Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal blamed the international geopolitical crisis emanating from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the reason for the rapid spike in oil prices, adding, the government is monitoring the situation on a daily basis and regulating certain prices linked to crude oil.
“Fuel prices hiked with speed after Ukraine crisis, despite which govt has tried to keep it under control. We didn’t create this international state; it’s not politics if it coincided with polls,” he added.
He further said India has kept the prices of fertilisers, oil, and grain, in check such rates increasing in the whole world in view of the international condition.
“The world is facing problems due to inflation. We’re monitoring everything daily and regulate goods as per policy intervention,” Goyal told ANI news agency.
He attacked the Opposition for blaming the government for spiralling prices, saying, “It’s the Opposition’s frustration for losing poll after poll that they’re blaming us for the hike in fuel prices citing the end of polls… Why would PM Modi extend the PM Gareeb Kalyan Anna Yojana for 6 more months had it just been for polls”.
Goyal’s statement comes a day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Russia-Ukraine conflict has impacted the supply lines of crude oil, causing prices to rise.
“It has nothing to do with the election time. If the oil-marketing companies think they are procuring … at a higher rate, obviously we will have to bear it. And this war’s impact is on all countries,” FM Sitharaman said while replying to the debate on the Finance Bill, 2022. The Lok Sabha cleared the Bill on Saturday.
On Sunday, oil marketing companies raised oil prices for a fifth time in the last six days. Petrol was increased by Rs 0.50 paise-a-litre and diesel by Rs 0.55-a-litre on Sunday, taking the overall hike in rates since the resumption of daily price revision less than a week back to Rs 3.70-3.75 per litre. Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 99.11 per litre while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 89.87 per litre to Rs 90.42, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers.
Daily price revisions began on March 22 after a hiatus of four-and-a-half months possibly due to State Assembly elections in several states including heavyweights like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
In all, petrol prices have gone up by Rs 3.70 per litre and diesel by Rs 3.75 in six days. Prices had been on a freeze since November 4 ahead of the assembly elections in states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab — a period during which the cost of raw material (crude oil) soared by about $30 per barrel.
