Prices of petrol and diesel were hiked for the fourth time in two weeks. With hike, the petrol prices have cross the Rs 100 threshold across the country and in some states, it has even crossed Rs 110 mark. The Congress party came down heavily on the Narendra Modi government for raising the fuel prices, saying that the prices of petrol have crossed Rs 110 per litre for the first time in 78 years after independence. However, the BJP was quick to remind that while the Central taxes on fuel prices are same across the country, it’s the Value Added Tax imposed by the States that makes the price variation from state to state.
Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said that the petrol price has crossed Rs 110 per litre for the first time in 78 years after independence. “There is a Rs 57 lakh crore loot by the BJP in the last 12 years. Every day, fuel loot is picking the pockets of the common man. The last 11 days have been catastrophic on the pockets of the salaried class, farmers, businessmen, homemakers, small businesses, and the common man. With the Union BJP government unleashing fuel loot by increasing the price of petrol and diesel four times in the last 11 days, this back-breaking and defrauding of the Kannadigas by the BJP is unpardonable,” he said.
Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi called Prime Minister Modi ‘inflation man’ amid the rising prices. “Inflation Man Modi strikes again. They raise petrol-diesel prices in instalments—so that your pocket keeps getting quietly fleeced. I’ve been warning for months about an economic storm coming. But Modi ji, as always, was busy with elections back then—and the moment elections ended, petrol-diesel was hiked by Rs 8. And this rise will just keep happening. Inflation Man Modi’s only job is this—promises during elections, and the rest of the time, attacks on the public’s pocket,” said Rahul Gandhi.
BJP says Congress-ruled states have costliest petrol
The ruling BJP accused the Congress party of ‘peak political dishonesty’. BJP leader Amit Malviya said that the central excise duty on petrol and diesel is uniform across India, while what changes the pump price is the VAT imposed by individual state governments.
“So if petrol has crossed Rs 110 in Karnataka, the Congress government in Bengaluru should answer why it is imposing one of the highest VAT burdens in the country on Kannadigas. In fact, the states with the highest fuel prices are overwhelmingly governed by the Congress, INDIA bloc allies, or AAP: Telangana — Rs 118.3/litre | Kerala — Rs 114.9/litre | Karnataka — Rs 110.3/litre | Tamil Nadu — Rs 107.8/litre. Meanwhile, BJP-governed states like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Goa, and Assam have kept petrol prices around Rs 102 or lower by maintaining lower state VAT,” said Malviya.
The BJP accused the Congress of hypocrisy, saying that even diesel is costly in opposition-ruled states. “The hypocrisy gets worse on diesel, the fuel used by farmers, truckers, buses, irrigation pumps, and small businesses. BJP states have deliberately kept diesel VAT lower to protect freight and agriculture costs. Opposition-ruled states have done the opposite and taxed diesel harder. When the Centre cut excise duty by Rs 10 per litre in March 2026, BJP-ruled states passed the relief directly to consumers. Congress and India-bloc states refused to cut their own VAT,” said Malviya.
The BJP asked Congress to stop the ‘melodrama’ about ‘fuel loot’ and added that if Kannadigas are paying more at the pump, it is because the Congress government in Karnataka is milking them through state taxes while ‘blaming Delhi for its own greed and incompetence’.
