Mallikarjun Kharge slams Modi government over fuel prices, questions lack of relief despite fall in crude oil rates

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 26, 2026 11:48 am IST - New Delhi Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge slams the Centre and questions the government over the lack of relief for the public amid the surging prices of petrol and diesel. File picture | Photo Credit: PTI Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge attacked the Modi government on Tuesday (May 26, 2026) over the rising fuel prices and asked why relief was not provided to people when crude oil prices fell during the last 12 years. Mr. Kharge cited an official statement by the PIB to state that exactly 12 years ago today — on May 26, 2014 — when Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office, the price of crude oil in the Indian basket stood at $108.05 per barrel, and the Dollar-Rupee exchange rate was ₹58.59. Also Read | CNG prices hiked fourth time in eleven days in Delhi and North India; latest by ₹2/kg At that time, petrol was available at ₹71.51 per litre, and diesel at ₹56.71 per liter, he said in his post in Hindi on X. Today, the price of crude oil is below $99 per barrel; yet, the prices of petrol and diesel have surged to ₹102.12 and ₹95.20 per litre, respectively, Mr. Kharge said. In other words, while crude oil has become cheaper, petrol has become approximately 42.8% more expensive, and diesel about 67.9% more expensive, he said. "Every economist knows that the rising cost of petrol and diesel impacts every sector. From transportation to food commodities, the burden of inflation on the common man continues to intensify. Despite this, the government's profiteering continues unabated," Mr. Kharge said. "The question is straightforward: When crude oil prices have fallen, why have petrol and diesel become more expensive?" he said. Why is there no relief for the public, Mr. Kharge asked. The Congress on Monday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the latest fuel hike, with Rahul Gandhi alleging that the "mehangai manav" has struck again and he has just one job of making promises during elections and attacking people's pockets at other times. Mr. Kharge also lashed out at the Modi government over the issue and asked who is benefitting from this "daily robbery". Petrol and diesel prices were raised by ₹2.61-2.71 per litre on Monday (May 25), marking the fourth increase in less than two weeks as state-owned fuel retailers continued to pass on rising international oil prices to consumers. Indian National Congress / oil and gas - upstream activities / politics 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.

Mallikarjun Kharge slams Modi government over fuel prices, questions lack of relief despite fall in crude oil rates

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Mallikarjun Kharge slams Modi government over fuel prices, questions lack of relief despite fall in crude oil rates

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