Sonia Gandhi slams Modi government over petrol, diesel price hike. (File pic)

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing her displeasure over the government’s decision to hike petrol and diesel prices. Sonia said that the government is doing nothing short of ‘profiteering off its people’ when they are down and out due to the coronavirus pandemic.

She said that the government’s decision to increase the prices of petrol and diesel during the coronavirus crisis is ‘wholly insensitive’ and ‘ill-advised’. She said the government was earning an additional revenue of nearly Rs 2.6 lakh crore through hikes in excise duty and increase in prices of petrol and diesel.

“I am deeply distressed that in these exceedingly difficult times since the beginning of March, the government has taken the wholly insensitive decision to increase petrol and diesel prices on no less than ten separate occasions,” she wrote.

Taking a jibe at PM Modi’s call for ‘self-reliance’, the Congress president said the hike in petrol, diesel should be immediately withdrawn so that benefits could reach directly to the people.

Congress’s Sonia Gandhi writes to the PM over hike in petrol-diesel prices. The letter states,”It’s duty& responsibility of govt to alleviate suffering, not put the people to still greater hardship…Govt doing nothing short of profiteering off its people when they are down&out”. pic.twitter.com/yMcH72gREl

— ANI (@ANI) June 16, 2020

“I urge you to roll back these increases and pass on the benefit of low oil prices directly to the citizens of this country. If you wish for them to be ‘self-reliant’ then do not place financial fetters on their ability to move forward,” the Congress president said.

Sonia Gandhi’s letter to PM Modi comes on the 10th day of the hike in petrol and diesel prices.

Sonia Gandhi once again urged the Prime Minister to use resources to put money directly into the hands of those in need in these times of severe hardship.

The Congress party and opposition are attacking the Modi government over hike in fuel prices when the country is fighting coronavirus pandemic and people are facing financial crunch. They are questioning why the government was increasing fuel prices despite a sharp decline in crude oil prices.