Congress flays continuing hike in fuel price

The Congress on Tuesday wondered why the Centre was refusing to reduce the prices of petrol and diesel despite a falling trend in international crude prices.

“If you see the international prices, as per the Brent international crude prices it was $80 a barrel last week and today it is $75 a barrel. But our government, for the past 16 days, has been continuously hiking oil prices,” Congress spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said at a press conference.

The Congress played out a 2013 clip in which the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is heard saying that the regular hike in petrol and diesel prices showed the UPA government’s incompetence.

Asked why the Congress had not taken to the streets, Mr Vadakkan said: “We have been demonstrating in every district and every block, but the government just doesn’t listen. Even the Congress president protested by cycling in Karnataka.”

He said the Modi government’s focus was on election and headline management. “The amount of money the government has spent in the past few days could have fed malnourished children in the country for three years,” he said.