Aam Aadmi Party leader Raghav Chadha lashed out at the BJP-led Central government after it was revealed that petrol and diesel prices had both risen over 75 times in the past year. The revelation came in response to a question put forth by the AAP MP in the Rajya Sabha. Meanwhile, another question by CPIM leader A A Rahim revealed that LPG cylinder prices had fluctuated around 50 times since 2019
“You will be surprised to know that in the last one year, the price of petrol has been increased 78 times and that of diesel 76 times…It has a cascading impact on (the price of) every other commodity,” Chadha said, calling it a “robbery on public’s pockets”. The AAP MP also shared an image of the answer received from Union Minister Rameswar Teli.
“The Centre made Rs 16 lakh crore through the excise duty imposed on fuel between 2016 and 2022. The Centre doesn’t even want to address inflation in the parliament,” he added.
According to the data given by the Centre, the price of petrol had increased on 78 days and decreased on 7 occasions in Delhi during the last financial year (April 2021 to April 2022). Diesel prices meanwhile had risen 76 times and dipped on 10 different days during the same year. During the current financial year both petrol and diesel prices have increased on five days (till July 20).
The data provided in response to Chadha’s question also indicates petrol price in the national capital has risen from Rs 90.56 on April 1, 2021 to 96.72 on July 18 this year. During the same period, diesel prices have risen from Rs 80.87 to Rs. 89.62.
Data from the Centre also indicates that the price of a LPG cylinder had risen from Rs 706.50 on April 1, 2019 to Rs 1,053 on July 6 this year in Delhi. As per information shared by the Union Minister, LPG prices have risen and dipped around 50 times since 2019.
“The prices of petroleum products in the country are linked to the price of respective products in the international market…the Government continues to modulate the effective price to consumer for domestic LPG. The subsidy, as admissible, is credited to the bank account of eligible beneficiaries,” Teli said.
