'Government has merely agreed to share a small part of burden': Congress leaders slam reduced excise duty on fuel

New Delhi: Congress on Friday claimed that the cut on 'special additional excise duty' on petrol and diesel was due to the Assembly elections and that the relief exists only on narratives of the government that is "manufacturing headlines and fooling people".

General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said the consumer prices were not reduced when global crude oil prices fell as they did on seven different occasions in the past 12 years.

"Today's announcement was because of assembly elections. Wait till April 30th," he posted on 'X'.

Party's Media and Publicity Department Chairman Pawan Khera said, "if you saw the headlines about petrol and diesel prices 'coming down' and thought the government had offered relief to your pocket, you'd be mistaken. As of now, prices remain the same for dealers and for consumers."

"What has actually been reduced is the 'special additional excise duty', a levy paid by oil marketing companies to the government. The words 'special' and 'additional' reveal how unnecessary this tax is," he said, adding the companies had been absorbing losses since the outbreak of the conflict in West Asia.

"The government has now merely agreed to share a small part of that burden but reducing the 'special additional' levy - that too almost a month later. Relief exists but only in the narrative -- not in reality. Instead of manufacturing headlines and fooling people, the government should focus on delivering actual relief to consumers," he said.

In a separate post, he said, "Modi's masterstroke: Cheaper crude. Costlier fuel. In May 2014, crude oil was at USD 106.94 per barrel. Petrol cost Rs 71.71 per litre, and diesel Rs 56.71. Fast forward to just before the West Asia conflict -- crude oil had fallen to around USD 70 per barrel. But petrol was selling at Rs 94.72 per litre, and diesel at Rs 87.62 in Delhi," he said.

Emphasising that India bought crude oil from Russia at a discounted rate, he said the benefit did not translate into relief for consumers while alleging that it only made the Ambanis richer.

"Because between 2014 and 2026, the government revised the excise duty a total of 21 times, increasing it 12 times. So much for Achche Din!" he said.

He also targeted Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri for his "patronising tone" when he said that the government decided to "take a hit" on its own finances to safeguard Indian citizens.

"Oh, how magnanimous! The tone is patronising and condescending - packaging as charity and favour what is, in fact, the basic responsibility of any government. Mr Puri, the government and the money both are of the people of India. They do not belong to Epstein," he said.

Khera claimed that his language "also reeks of entitlement – it sounds more like a ruler doling out favours from his own coffers, rather than a government spending the 'people's money' for the 'people'"