The Opposition on Friday accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of burdening common people with the fuel price hike and making them pay the price of its mistakes.
The Opposition parties criticised the timing of the hike, calling it a " "recovery" that begins after the elections.
The leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, took to X to voice his dissatisfaction with the hike in prices of petrol and diesel by ₹3 per litre.
“Galti Modi sarkaar ki, keemat janta chukayegi (The public will pay the price for the Modi government’s mistakes),” Rahul wrote, calling the hike an initial shock and predicting further “recovery” in instalments.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the move, linking the fuel price hike to a "leadership crisis", lack of visionary thinking and incompetence.
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for suggesting work from home and fuel conservation while the crisis is escalating, he said: “This is a Modi-government-made crisis. The common people of the country are paying the price for it from their own pockets on petrol, diesel and liquified petroleum gas (LPG).
“When diesel prices rise, it creates a cascading effect of inflation across the entire country. Everyone, from industries to household budgets and farmers, is badly affected.”
He slammed the government for behaving as if “everything was normal” during the just-concluded Assembly elections in multiple states, including Bengal. From its official X handle, the Congress posted an AI video, captioning it: “Chunav khatam, vasooli shuru (election over, recovery begins).” The party labelled Modi as “inflation man”.
According to Trinamool Congress parliamentary leader Derek O’Brien, the hike was predictable. O’Brien posted on X: “First, they loot your vote, then they kick you where it hurts. Pathetically predictable. Diesel and petrol prices hiked. Will Bengal govt reduce VAT on petrol & diesel now that there’s a Delhi-controlled government which doesn’t have to worry about funds being blocked by Centre?”
Shiv Sena (Uddhav) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi too took a dig at the government on X, asking which among the rupee and diesel price would cross the century first. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said that the cycle, his party symbol, was the best alternative amid the fuel price hike.
The AAP and the CPM said the hike would impose a burden on the working class already reeling under inflation, unemployment, stagnant wages and deepening economic distress.