<p>Following the the hike in fuel prices in eight days, <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/congress">Congress</a> chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday lashed out at the government, alleging that the Centre was "looting" public's money in instalments. </p><p>In a post in Hindi on X, Kharge claimed that there was a leadership crisis in the government, adding that other countries are providing relief but the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/bjp">BJP</a> government continues to loot their own people. </p><p>"Petrol has now crossed Rs 100, this time around...Looting the public's earnings in instalments!" he said in the post. </p><p>"The BJP's appetite isn't satisfied even after slapping a central tax of Rs 1,000 crore daily on petrol-diesel... When international prices were low, they didn't pass on the benefits to the people - instead, they looted them relentlessly," he added.</p>.'Modi-Govt-Made crisis': Opposition slams govt over hike in fuel prices.<p>The veteran Congress leader further said that when the crisis hit, BJP leaders were involved in elections and they preached sacrifice. </p><p>"Then, in just 8 days, they hiked petrol-diesel prices three times.We were told that prices in India are the lowest compared to foreign countries," he said. </p><p>"When the war in West Asia broke out and PM Modi was busy feeding us Indians the 'everything's fine' sedative, other countries were providing relief to their citizens," he claimed.</p>. <p>Further, Kharge cited the example of Italy, saying it cut excise on fuel, giving their people some relief, while Australia reduced excise duty, slashing petrol prices by about Rs 17 per litre for citizens. He said Germany lowered taxes on oil, reducing prices by Rs 17-19 per litre, while the UK provided 100 pounds in oil aid to households and cut taxes on fuel and electricity.</p><p>Ireland's 250 million euro relief package brought petrol prices down by about 0.15 euro/litre and diesel by 0.20 euro/litre, he said.</p><p>"Narendra Modi ji, tell us -- Who all are getting a share of this installment-based loot? Why are you so compromised? "The real crisis in this government is one of leadership -- 140 crore Indians have now figured that out," Kharge alleged.</p><p>On Saturday, the government increased petrol and diesel prices by Rs 87-81 per litre, taking the cumulative increase in retail fuel rates to nearly Rs 5 a litre in under 10 days as state-owned firms passed on soaring international oil prices.</p><p>The back-to-back increases come amid prolonged freeze in retail fuel prices and come amid elevated crude oil prices in the global market.</p><p>With the latest hike, petrol and diesel prices have risen close to Rs 5 a litre since the state-owned oil marketing companies on May 15 ended the hiatus in rate revision, stoking concerns over inflationary pressures and higher transportation costs across the economy.</p><p>Earlier, petrol and diesel prices were increased by Rs 3 per litre each on May 15 and 90 paise a litre on May 19. </p>
<p>Following the the hike in fuel prices in eight days, <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/congress">Congress</a> chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday lashed out at the government, alleging that the Centre was "looting" public's money in instalments. </p><p>In a post in Hindi on X, Kharge claimed that there was a leadership crisis in the government, adding that other countries are providing relief but the <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/bjp">BJP</a> government continues to loot their own people. </p><p>"Petrol has now crossed Rs 100, this time around...Looting the public's earnings in instalments!" he said in the post. </p><p>"The BJP's appetite isn't satisfied even after slapping a central tax of Rs 1,000 crore daily on petrol-diesel... When international prices were low, they didn't pass on the benefits to the people - instead, they looted them relentlessly," he added.</p>.'Modi-Govt-Made crisis': Opposition slams govt over hike in fuel prices.<p>The veteran Congress leader further said that when the crisis hit, BJP leaders were involved in elections and they preached sacrifice. </p><p>"Then, in just 8 days, they hiked petrol-diesel prices three times.We were told that prices in India are the lowest compared to foreign countries," he said. </p><p>"When the war in West Asia broke out and PM Modi was busy feeding us Indians the 'everything's fine' sedative, other countries were providing relief to their citizens," he claimed.</p>. <p>Further, Kharge cited the example of Italy, saying it cut excise on fuel, giving their people some relief, while Australia reduced excise duty, slashing petrol prices by about Rs 17 per litre for citizens. He said Germany lowered taxes on oil, reducing prices by Rs 17-19 per litre, while the UK provided 100 pounds in oil aid to households and cut taxes on fuel and electricity.</p><p>Ireland's 250 million euro relief package brought petrol prices down by about 0.15 euro/litre and diesel by 0.20 euro/litre, he said.</p><p>"Narendra Modi ji, tell us -- Who all are getting a share of this installment-based loot? Why are you so compromised? "The real crisis in this government is one of leadership -- 140 crore Indians have now figured that out," Kharge alleged.</p><p>On Saturday, the government increased petrol and diesel prices by Rs 87-81 per litre, taking the cumulative increase in retail fuel rates to nearly Rs 5 a litre in under 10 days as state-owned firms passed on soaring international oil prices.</p><p>The back-to-back increases come amid prolonged freeze in retail fuel prices and come amid elevated crude oil prices in the global market.</p><p>With the latest hike, petrol and diesel prices have risen close to Rs 5 a litre since the state-owned oil marketing companies on May 15 ended the hiatus in rate revision, stoking concerns over inflationary pressures and higher transportation costs across the economy.</p><p>Earlier, petrol and diesel prices were increased by Rs 3 per litre each on May 15 and 90 paise a litre on May 19. </p>
