Opposition slams fresh fuel price hike, Kharge asks ‘who benefits’, Rahul calls Modi ‘inflation man’

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Published - May 25, 2026 05:12 pm IST - New Delhi Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. File | Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma As petrol and diesel prices were raised by ₹2.61-2.71 per litre on Monday (May 25, 2026), marking the fourth increase in less than two weeks, Opposition leaders stepped up their attack on the Narendra Modi government, accusing it of burdening consumers and failing to shield the public from rising costs. While Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge described the increase as “daily robbery”, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi “mehangai manav” [inflation man]. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal questioned why India was not sourcing cheaper crude oil from Russia and Iran. The latest increase took cumulative hikes in petrol and diesel prices since May 15 to nearly ₹7.5 per litre, pushing fuel prices to their highest levels since May 2022 and raising concerns over inflation and transportation costs. In a post on X, Mr. Kharge said the “daily assault of fuel loot” was continuing, noting that this was the fourth hike in ten days. “The Modi government has sprinkled petrol to burn the savings of common people,” the Congress chief said. The Daily Assault of FUEL LOOT is not over yet! 4th hike in 10 days !! Petrol – ₹7.35/litreDiesel – ₹7.53/litreModi Govt has sprinkled Petrol to Burn the Savings of common people.⛽️Between 2004 and 2014, during the UPA, international crude oil prices increased by… pic.twitter.com/4rP8BfasNj Mr. Kharge alleged that despite international crude oil prices not witnessing an increase comparable to that seen during the UPA years, retail fuel prices have risen sharply under the present government. He claimed petrol prices have increased from ₹71.41 per litre in 2014 to ₹102.12 in 2026, while diesel prices rose from ₹56.71 to ₹95.20 during the same period. The Congress president also linked Monday’s (May 25) hike to gains in shares of public sector oil companies and alleged that the government prioritised “profit over people”. “Every fuel price hike is another blow to household budgets,” he said, adding that farmers and micro, small and medium enterprises were among those most affected. “We repeat. Who is benefitting from this daily robbery?” Mr. Kharge asked. Mr. Gandhi also attacked the Prime Minister, alleging that fuel prices were being increased in “instalments”. “‘Mehangai manav’ Modi strikes again. He raises petrol and diesel prices in instalments—ensuring that your pockets are quietly picked, bit by bit,” he said in a post on X. Mr Gandhi claimed that he had warned of an impending economic storm, but the government had delayed the increases because of elections. “‘Mehangai manav’ Modi has just one job: promises during elections, and attacking people’s pockets at other times,” he said. Mr. Kejriwal said rising inflation was imposing hardship on “140 crore people” and asked what compulsion prevented the government from purchasing cheaper fuel. “Russia and Iran are offering us cheaper and sufficient oil and gas. Why is Prime Minister Narendra Modi not buying cheap oil from them?” he asked in a video message on X. Congress spokesperson Ragini Nayak widened the criticism beyond fuel prices, raising concerns over oil supply disruptions and the economy. She asked what the government did to bring back ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz. Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Opposition slams fresh fuel price hike, Kharge asks ‘who benefits’, Rahul calls Modi ‘inflation man’

Key takeaways

Also covered by

Opposition slams fresh fuel price hike, Kharge asks ‘who benefits’, Rahul calls Modi ‘inflation man’

Key takeaways

Also covered by

More in international