2 weeks ago
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The substance terms hike announced by the Union authorities connected Friday (May 15, 2026), days aft the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured victories successful Assembly elections successful 3 of the 5 States, including West Bengal, wherever it formed the authorities for the archetypal time, has drawn crisp disapproval from the Opposition. Leader of the Opposition successful the Lok Sabha and elder Congress person Rahul Gandhi said the public was being forced to wage for the Narendra Modi government’s mistakes.
Petrol and diesel prices were raised by ₹3 per litre each, marking the archetypal summation successful much than 4 years, arsenic state-run substance retailers passed connected portion of the interaction of surging planetary crude prices pursuing the Iran war.
In a station successful Hindi connected X, Mr. Gandhi said, “Galti Modi sarkaar ki, keemat janta chukayegi (The nationalist volition wage the terms for the Modi government’s mistake).” “The ₹3 daze has already arrived, the remainder of the ‘vasooli (recovery)’ volition beryllium done successful installments,” helium said.
Senior Congress person Jairam Ramesh underlined that erstwhile planetary lipid prices were declining, the payment was not passed connected to Indian consumers. “Now that planetary lipid prices are climbing up due to the fact that of the warfare successful West Asia unleashed by the PM’s bully friends — the U.S. and Israel — and Assembly elections are over, the Modi Govt has accrued petrol and diesel prices aft having hiked commercialized LPG prices earlier. This is bound to pb to further inflation, which is present projected to beryllium adjacent to 6% for this fiscal year. Growth estimates volition beryllium lowered considerably,” helium said.
Trinamool Congress person Derek O’Brien questioned whether the recently elected BJP authorities successful West Bengal would trim Value Added Tax (VAT) connected fuel. He posted connected X, “Will the Bengal Govt trim VAT connected petrol & diesel present that there’s a Delhi-controlled authorities which doesn’t person to interest astir funds being blocked by Centre?”
The Left parties person called for a rollback of the terms hike. The CPI(M) Polit Bureau, successful a statement, said the summation would “impose much burdens” connected radical already facing inflation, unemployment, stagnant wages and economical distress. It besides questioned the lipid selling companies’ assertion that they were facing “under-recoveries” owed to rising planetary crude prices. “The word ‘under-recovery’ itself is simply a misnomer. It does not signify existent losses incurred by OMCs; rather, it refers to a hypothetical shortage betwixt existent revenues and the larger profits they would person earned if substance prices had been allowed to summation further,” the enactment said. It added that the hike had been held backmost by the Union authorities successful presumption of the elections.
CPI wide caput D. Raja said that the load of the hike would beryllium felt successful each household’s budget. “While radical are being asked to tighten their belts done austerity measures, the Modi authorities continues to support firm profiteers and walk the full load of its failures onto the people,” helium said.
The crisis, helium said, was the result of Prime Minister Modi’s disastrous overseas argumentation and his implicit surrender of India’s strategical autonomy earlier the United States and Donald Trump. “India was pressured into cutting vigor imports from Russia and Iran, weakening our vigor information and exposing the state to planetary shocks and manipulation. Today the federation is paying the terms for a overseas argumentation driven not by nationalist involvement but by governmental servility,” Mr. Raja added.
