Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday, 29 June, asked the government to stop profiteering from the increased fuel price as the prices of both diesel and petrol have increased 22 times during the lockdown.
Also, Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi demanded a rollback of fuel price alleging that the Centre is "profiteering".
On one hand, the government had written off loans of big people, on the other it was trying to profit from fuel prices, putting extra burden on the poor and the farmers, the Congress leader said in a video posted on his Twitter handle.
Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan hit back at the Congress.
Pradhan said that the money from fuel was being used for welfare measures instead of personal benefit as allegedly prevalent during the Congress era.
Pradhan said, "I once again reiterate to Madam Sonia Gandhi ji that Modi ji has transferred more than Rs 65,000 crore to 42 crore people in the last 3 months."
Dharmendra Pradhan made strong allegations against the Congress government with remarks like, “Unlike Congress’ legacy of transferring money into the accounts of middlemen, ‘National Daamad’, ‘The Family’ and Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, Modi ji’s DBT is about putting money in the hands of the poor, farmers, migrant workforce and women.”
He also reiterated what BJP President JP Nadda has been voicing at his virtual rallies asking why the Congress is allegedly hiking the prices of fuel in Congress-ruled states if they oppose the idea so much.
Since the daily price revision resumed on 7 June, the petrol price has increased by Rs 9.12 and that of diesel rose by Rs 11.01 in the national capital. The effect of the price rise was similar in other Indian states.
Petrol prices registered in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata were Rs 87.14, Rs 83.59 and Rs 82.05 per litre, respectively.
— with inputs from IANS
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