Sonia and Rahul Gandhi slam government over petroleum prices

Congress president Sonia Gandhi attacked the BJP government at the Centre for raising fuel prices 22 times since the lockdown, accusing it of extorting people, and sought an immediate rollback of the hikes.

1.Sonia Gandhi attacked the BJP government for fuel prices 22 times in last 22 days

Sonia Gandhi charged the government with profiteering at the expense of the people, saying its duty was to help them in times of crisis and not make profits out of their hard-earned money.

2.Sonia Gandhi said, it was government's duty to help people in crisis

Participating in the Congress' "Speak Up Against Fuel Hike" campaign across the country, Sonia Gandhi said on the one hand, the COVID-19 pandemic was wreaking havoc and on the other, the rise in petrol and diesel prices was making life very difficult for the people.

3.Pandemic and fuel price rise created double trouble for people

The Congress launched the countrywide campaign on Monday to press the central government to roll back fuel prices as they were hurting the common people.

4. Congress launched the countrywide campaign against fuel price hike

Party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also joined the campaign on social media, and urged people to join them in pressing the government to reduce fuel prices.

5. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi also joined the campaign

"I, along with all Congressmen and others together, demand from the Modi government to immediately roll k the increase in prices of petrol and diesel raised during this crisis due to the corona pandemic," Sonia Gandhi said in a video message.

6.Sonia Gandhi demanded an immediate roll back of petrol and diesel prices

"I also urge them to roll back the rise in excise duty on petrol and diesel since March this year and give this benefit to the countrymen. This will be a big relief in this period of economic crisis," she said.

7. Sonia Gandhi also urged the government to roll back the rise in excise duty

The Congress chief said this in its own was the living proof of taking the hard-earned incomes of the people and filling the government's coffers.

"The government's duty is to support the countrymen in difficult times and not take advantage of their plight and profiteer.

8. It's government's duty to support the countrymen in difficult times

"The government has set a new example of extortion from people through this unjustified increase in petrol and diesel prices. This is not only unjust but also insensitive," Sonia Gandhi said, noting that it directly hurts the country's farmers, the poor, the working class, the middle class and the small businesses.

9.The price hike hurts the country's farmers,the poor and the working class: Sonia Gandhi

She said the price of petrol in national capital Delhi and other big cities has crossed Rs 80 per litre.

"After the March 25 lockdown, the Modi government, in the last three months, has raised the prices of petrol and diesel 22 times," the Congress chief said, adding that the price of diesel has gone up by Rs 11 per litre and that of petrol by Rs 9.12 per litre.

10. The price of petrol and diesel has gone up historically high

"The Modi government has made provision for collecting lakhs of crores by raising excise duty on petrol and diesel in the last three months. All this is happening at a time when the international crude oil prices are continuously falling," she said.

11. The Modi government has made lakhs of crores by raising excise duty on petrol and diesel

The Congress president said that since 2014, instead of giving relief of the falling international crude oil prices to the people, the Modi government has raised the excise duty 12 times, which helped it collect additional revenue of nearly Rs 18 lakh crore.

12. Modi government raised the excise duty 12 times in last 6 years

Congress had declared to intensify the  campaign in the coming week, alleging that the government has collected Rs 1.3 lakh crore through the fuel price hikes since the lockdown.