Rahul Gandhi, one of the top figures of Congress, India's main opposition party, launched a political attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party-led government following a rise in fuel prices.
Taking to Twitter, Gandhi said that people in India are suffering due to inflation, while the Modi government is busy with tax collection.
मोदी जी ने ‘GDP’ यानी गैस-डीज़ल-पेट्रोल के दामों में ज़बरदस्त विकास कर दिखाया है!
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 24, 2021
जनता महँगाई से त्रस्त, मोदी सरकार टैक्स वसूली में मस्त। pic.twitter.com/FsiG8ECajk
The jibe from the former Congress chief came a day after petrol and diesel prices in the country touched an all-time high after rates were increased the fourth time in a week.
As per the data, the increase has driven the petrol price in the national capital up to INR 85.70 ($1.17) per litre and INR 92.28 ($1.26) in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, Diesel rates climbed to INR 75.88 ($1.04) a litre in Delhi and INR 82.66 ($1.13) per litre in Mumbai following the hike.
Last week, India's Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan revealed that the reason behind the soaring fuel prices was the lower production of oil-producing nations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We have to import 80 percent of crude oil of our requirement. Due to coronavirus, many oil-producing countries stopped production or reduced it. There is a pressure on fuel prices due to an imbalance in demand and supply," Pradhan had told media.
During the phase of the nationwide lockdown in 2020, the Congress lawmaker had kicked off an online campaign called "Speak Up Against Fuel Hike". The retail prices of petrol and diesel had hit the roof since the country had entered the lockdown phase to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
