New Delhi, May 19 Rising fuel prices and inflation on Tuesday sparked a fresh political confrontation, with Opposition leaders accusing the Centre of pushing common people into distress, while the BJP defended the situation by calling it a global crisis affecting economies worldwide.
AAP leader Anurag Dhanda, attacking the Centre, said auto and truck drivers were being forced towards protest due to increasing prices of CNG, petrol and diesel.
"Auto drivers have now announced that they will go on strike because CNG gas prices are rising. Truck drivers had already said they would go on strike as diesel prices continue to increase. They have failed to understand the concerns of auto drivers, truck drivers, and common people," Dhanda told IANS.
Targeting the BJP over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to save fuel, party leaders travelling in Metros and public transport, Dhanda alleged that such exercises were merely political "drama".
"Look, the whole country is in trouble right now, and people are worried. And the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, their ministers, chief ministers, by doing this drama, are sprinkling salt on people’s wounds," he said.
Claiming that BJP leaders travel with heavy security despite using public transport, Dhanda added, "They are travelling in the Metro with 30-40 security personnel. I ask how these people reached the Metro station? They had arrived in cars, what is the point then? Moreover, they occupy entire Metro coaches, leaving no space for common people to travel."
Congress MP Deepender Hooda also attacked the Centre over inflation and the weakening rupee, alleging that the government's economic policies had pushed the country into a difficult situation.
"Due to the government’s wrong economic policies, the country is going through a very difficult phase. If any currency has witnessed the sharpest decline in the international market, it is the Indian rupee," Hooda said.
He further claimed that petrol, diesel, cooking gas and fertilisers had reached their highest-ever prices in the country.
"Petrol, diesel, gas and fertilisers have reached the highest prices in the country's history," the Congress MP said while criticising the Centre over the rising cost of living.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Minister Anil Rajbhar defended the government, asserting that the rise in fuel prices was part of a larger global economic challenge.
"This is a global problem and a crisis facing the entire world. We all have pride in our government and our leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prices of diesel and petrol have increased in every country of the world, but the increase in India has been the lowest and the last to occur," he said.
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