Cong. wants ‘trickery’ on inflation to stop
Says Centre high on ‘political gimmicks’, wants daily dose of ‘vikas’
New Delhi, May 22: A day after the government cut excise duty on petrol and diesel, the Congress on Sunday accused the BJP of resorting to “trickery” to create an “optical delusion” and said the people deserve genuine relief from the “record inflation”.
In a tweet, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi compared petrol prices between May 1,
2020 and now, and said the “government must stop fooling citizens”.
“Petrol Prices May 1,
2020: `69.5, Mar 1, 2022:
`95.4, May 1, 2022: `105.4, May 22, 2022: `96.7. Now, expect Petrol to see ‘Vikas’ in daily doses of
`0.8 and `0.3 again,” Gandhi said.
“Govt must stop fooling citizens. People deserve genuine relief from record inflation,” he said on Twitter.
At a press conference at the AICC headquarter here, Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh accused the Modi government of being “high on political gimmick” and low on relief.
“The BJP government’s cluelessness about the economy and financial management has been out in the open for long now. Instead of accepting it and seeking guidance from experts, the BJP only resorts to trickery to create an optical delusion,” Vallabh alleged.
In yet another instance, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman put out a series of tweets announcing a series of actions that were purely meant to create a “delusion”, he alleged.
“The FM announced a reduction of `8 per litre on petrol and `6 per litre in Central Excise. While it may seem a significant reduction in absolute terms, the point of contention doesn’t change,” he argued, citing figures of `9.48 excise duty in
2014 and `19.9 in May
2022.
“Three steps forward and two steps back doesn’t mean it leads to any improvement in the lives of the common people,” the Congress leader said.
Vallabh also cited that the excise per liter on diesel in April 2014 was
`3.56 and in May 2022 is
`15.8. “The prices are back to the March 2022 numbers. Were the common people pleased with the fuel prices in March
2022? The answer is No. “Is the government still charging a hefty excise on fuel? The answer is Yes. True relief will only come when excise will be reduced to 2014 levels,” he stressed. Petrol prices have increased by `10 per litre in the last 60 days and then comes a reduction of `9.5 per litre, Vallabh said, and asked, “Isn't this trickery”.
Diesel prices have increased by `10 per litre in the last 60 days and then comes a reduction of `7 per litre. he said, asking how is this welfare.
Vallabh pointed out that LPG prices have increased by 142 per cent between May-2014 and
May-2022.
“LPG prices have increased by more than
`400 in the last 18 months. Providing `200 reduction doesn't mean the welfare of the people