Fuel prices hiked in instalments, people's pockets picked quietly: Cong, AAP as petrol crosses ₹100/lt mark in Delhi

Petrol prices were raised by ₹2.61 a litre and diesel by ₹2.71 on Monday, the fourth increase in less than two weeks that extended a delayed pass-through of soaring global crude oil costs triggered by the Iran conflict.

The latest increase took cumulative hikes since May 15 to nearly ₹7.5 per litre.

In Delhi, petrol prices rose to ₹102.12 per litre from ₹99.51, while diesel climbed to ₹95.20 from ₹92.49, according to industry sources.

Fuel prices have now reached their highest levels since May 2022 after remaining largely frozen for more than two years, barring a ₹2-per-litre cut in March 2024 ahead of national elections.

Here's how top political leaders reacted to it:

State-run retailers had delayed passing on higher input costs for weeks, a move the government said was intended to shield consumers from inflation. Opposition parties, however, accused the administration of holding back price increases until after key state elections.

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the latest fuel hike and accused the government of burdening consumers after state elections ended.

"Petrol and diesel prices are being increased in instalments so that people's pockets are quietly picked," Gandhi said in a post on social media, calling Modi “Mahangai Manav Modi” — a play on words linking the prime minister to inflation.

"Mehangai Manav Modi strikes again," he said in the post. "For months, I had been warning of an impending economic storm. But Modi Ji, true to form, was busy with elections at the time and the moment the elections ended, he hiked the prices of petrol and diesel by ₹8."

And, this upward trend will only continue, he added. "'Mehangai manav' Modi has just one job: promises during elections, and attacking people's pockets at other times," Gandhi said.

After petrol and diesel prices were hiked for a fourth time today, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal questioned why India is not buying cheaper fuel from Russia and Iran.

“Oil prices have risen again. We are still not buying cheap oil from Russia and Iran. What is the compulsion Modi Ji?” he said. “The Indian government is not buying from them. I request the Indian government to purchase oil and gas from Russia and Iran at cheap rates so that the people of the country can get relief from the shortage of oil and gas and get relief from expensive oil and gas.”

Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh also echoed the same sentiment and alleged that PM Modi was "responsible" for the prevailing oil crisis in India.

When people of India are standing in queues for hours before fuel stations, the union government has exported petrol and diesel worth ₹52,000 crore to other countries, Singh alleged while addressing a press conference here.

"Iran was providing crude oil to India at a cheaper price in rupees. However, due to restrictions imposed by the USA, you (Centre) are not able to procure crude oil from Iran," Singh claimed.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge also slammed Centre's “fuel loot” and said “Modi Govt has sprinkled Petrol to Burn the Savings of common people.”

“Every fuel price hike is another blow to household budgets, and has a cascading effect on every aspect of the economy. From Farmers to MSMEs, every strata of the society bears the brunt of BJP’s LOOT,” he wrote.

Karnataka Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao also slammed the Centre, saying, “The Modi government simply knows that when prices rise, the people have to bear the burden. When crude oil prices fall, the government benefits.”

“So this is dynamic pricing that we have adopted, meaning when crude oil prices fall, consumers should benefit. And when it rises, consumers have to pay. Here, it's the opposite. When prices fall, they impose extra taxes, making them earn more money. When prices were low, only the central government benefited. And now that prices are rising, they give relief to the common man, right?” he told ANI.

The hike came as global oil prices fell sharply amid tentative hopes for a deal to end the US-Israel war on Iran. Brent crude, the primary benchmark for global oil prices, fell more than 5 per cent after the US and Iran agreed in principle to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Global crude oil prices had surged more than 50 per cent since late February following US-Israeli strikes on Iran and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route.

(With agency inputs)