Jaipur, May 15 Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Central government over the steep hike in petrol and diesel prices, alleging that the burden of rising fuel costs is continuously being imposed on the common people despite fluctuations in international crude oil prices.
Speaking to the media at Sanganer Airport, Gehlot said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had predicted before the Bengal elections that fuel prices would be increased after the polls, and “exactly that has now happened.”
He added that people had already sensed the possibility of a price hike from the Prime Minister’s recent appeals emphasising savings and restraint.
Referring to the tenure of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Gehlot said crude oil prices had once touched $115–120 per barrel during the United Progressive Alliance government, yet petrol and diesel prices were not as high as they are today.
He alleged that while PM Modi had strongly criticised inflation and fuel prices during that period, retail fuel rates were not reduced significantly even after international crude prices later declined to nearly $60 per barrel.
Gehlot also questioned the Centre’s taxation structure on fuel, claiming that changes in excise duty patterns have sharply reduced the revenue share of states.
He alleged that, through “additional” and “special” excise duties, the states’ effective share has been nearly eliminated.
The former Chief Minister said the government could have passed on the benefit of lower international crude prices to the public, but chose not to.
He accused the Centre’s economic policies of being anti-poor and anti-middle class, arguing that the impact of rising fuel prices falls primarily on ordinary citizens rather than large industrialists.
According to Gehlot, despite significant economic gains over the past several years, the benefits were not transferred to the public, and the government instead relied on “rhetoric and messaging.”
Petroleum companies on Friday announced a steep increase in fuel prices amid rising international crude oil prices and continuing tensions in the Middle East.
--IANS
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