BJP hits out at Rahul Gandhi over fuel price comments amid global tensions

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 08:20 pm IST - NEW DELHI File photo of BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia. | Photo Credit: PTI The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday (May 25, 2026) criticised Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for his remarks on fuel price hikes, while defending the Union government’s handling of the challenges amid global geopolitical tensions. Addressing a press conference, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, India has been confronting the challenges arising from the West Asia crisis with strength. Referring to the remarks of Mr. Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on the latest increase in prices of petrol and diesel, Mr. Bhatia asked: “In a global challenge, whether one belongs to the ruling party or Opposition, can they not stand with the country?” The BJP leader said inflation in India was about 4% over the past 80 days, compared to 56% in Malaysia, 52% in the United Arab Emirates, 45% in the U.S., 41% in Philippines, 38% in Sri Lanka, 32% in Canada, and 22% in China. “We are standing strong. With or without Rahul Gandhi, the country will progress further,” he said, pointing out that during the same period, petrol prices increased by 58% in Malaysia, 46% in the U.S., 34% in Canada, 25% in China, and 20% in Britain. “In India, the increase has been only about 5-5.5%,” Mr. Bhatia added. He said for nearly 65-70 days of the West Asia war, fuel prices in India remained unchanged as the intention was to ensure that common citizen did not suffer. “Oil companies absorbed losses because they did not want the public to suffer. Even after 75 days, petrol and diesel are available in India. While there is a gas crisis globally, domestic gas remains available in India because it is our priority,” said Mr. Bhatia. The BJP leader targeted the Congress party, alleging that after the war began, instead of supporting the Prime Minister’s appeal to citizens, it “spread panic” through misinformation. Responding to a query, he said every decision taken related to fuel prices would be in the public interest. He said the Union government had earlier reduced excise duty on petrol and diesel. The BJP-ruled States also decreased Value Added Tax (VAT) multiple times, but some States ruled by the Congress had not brought down the tax. “In Telangana, VAT is 35%. In Kerala, it is 30%, along with an additional ₹4 charge, and in Karnataka it is 29%. So, why are they not reducing it?” he asked. BJP leader Syed Zafar Islam said: “If you compare spot prices and future prices of oil, the gap between them used to be very narrow earlier. Now, the gap has widened significantly. This indicates that because of the evolving global geopolitical situation, oil prices have become extremely volatile. Even amid such volatility, the Government of India has placed only a very small burden on the people.” “As for how the situation will evolve further, geopolitical signals are changing every day. One day it appears a solution has emerged, the next day it appears otherwise. I believe we must wait for a permanent solution regarding the Strait of Hormuz situation. Once that happens, the current upward pressure on oil prices will reduce,” he said, adding that the government would continue to think about the welfare of the people. West Asia / diesel fuel / petrol / Indian National Congress / Bharatiya Janata Party 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.

BJP hits out at Rahul Gandhi over fuel price comments amid global tensions

Key takeaways

Also covered by

BJP hits out at Rahul Gandhi over fuel price comments amid global tensions

Key takeaways

Also covered by

More in international