Major reason for economic crisis in India is Modi govt's leadership crisis: Mallikarjun Kharge after fuel hike

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday slammed the Modi government over the fuel price hike, alleging an economic crisis in the country due to the government's "leadership crisis, lack of vision and incompetence".

In a post on X, he said, this crisis is a government-made crisis, the consequences of which the people of the country are bearing out of their own pockets on petrol, diesel, and LPG.

"The people of the country must understand that, along with the international fuel crisis, the major reason for the economic crisis in India at this time is the Modi government's leadership crisis, lack of vision, and rampant incompetence," he alleged.

Kharge said when diesel prices rise, inflation has a cascading effect across the country, adversely affecting everyone -- from industries to household budgets and farmers.

"When the West Asia war broke out, the country was told that 'all is well', and the Congress party's questions were ignored. No concrete steps were taken. Instead, our sovereignty was mortgaged for American 'permission'.

"During elections, the Modi government behaves as if 'everything is normal', and the central government's sole responsibility is to contest state elections. Now, as the crisis escalates, Modi has started touting the ideas od work from home and fuel savings," the Congress chief said, adding that the party has two questions.

Kharge said the US referred to the 30-day waiver for purchasing Russian oil in March with humiliating words like "allow" and "permission". "According to reports, the Indian government now wants an extension to that waiver. The question is why has Modi brought the country to the point of asking for "permission?" "Is it not true that when international crude oil prices were low, the Modi government provided no relief to the general public, instead earning Rs 43 lakh crore from central taxes in 10 years? So, why is the public being burdened with inflation now?" Kharge asked.

Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by Rs 3 per litre each on Friday, the first rate increase in more than four years, amid mounting losses of fuel retailers due to surging global crude prices.

Amid the crisis in West Asia, the prime minister recently suggested reducing petrol and diesel consumption, using metro rail services in cities, carpooling, increased use of electric vehicles, utilising railway services for parcel movement and working from home to conserve foreign exchange.