Bengaluru: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday announced that the state-owned oil companies will start displaying fuel prices in Kannada at all petrol bunks.
“When I was attending a meeting in the BJP office here, one friend pointed out that prices are displayed only in English and Hindi. Immediately, I asked my colleagues to direct the oil companies...prices will be displayed in Kannada," Puri said, adding that this will start from Wednesday.
The minister also claimed that India was the only country in the world where prices of petrol and diesel had fallen in the last two years.
"India is the only country in the world where prices of petrol and diesel have come down in the last two years," Puri told a news conference. "They (Opposition) have stopped talking about petrol because I've been exposing them in every meeting," he said.
"You look at any economic statistics, PM Modi has upfront reduced the excise on petrol and diesel twice between November 2021 and May 2022. Prices have come down while they are going up all over the world," Puri said.
The union minister was in Karnataka as part of the Bharat Viksit Yatra.
"Insofar as price rise is concerned, tell them (Congress leaders) to open the newspapers and see what the inflation rate is (elsewhere)," Puri said.
Puri pointed out that the union government has decided to produce 45,000 barrels of crude oil. "We will extract this by May or June this year. That'll be 7 per cent of our overall production and the gas that's coming is also 7 per cent," he said.
Reacting to controversy surrounding Maldives, the diplomat-turned-politician asserted that it has nothing to do with promoting tourism at Lakshadweep. “PM Modi's visit to this island showcased the country’s wide range of tourist destinations. When we are promoting our own tourist destinations, Maldives should not have any objections,” he said.
On Bharat Viksit Yatra, Puri said the main idea is to not only reach out to 11 crore beneficiaries of central schemes countywide, but also to make a consolidated effort to add more beneficiaries.