New Delhi: Congress alleged on Sunday that the fuel prices in the country are regulated by election dates rather than international price rates, IANS reported.
The party's spokesperson Gaurav Vallabh pointed out that retail inflation, GDP growth, and a depreciating rupee are pointers that give the picture of how the country's economy was being managed.
Addressing a press conference, Vallabh alleged that the BJP-led Centre was creating new lows with more data points released by themselves. The incompleteness and callousness of the government are making the lower and middle-income sections suffer, he said.
He said, "Retail inflation has been above RBI's upper band of 6 per cent for the last seven months. Commodities such as food, vegetables, and fuel hurt the middle and lower-income groups most. The government has been primarily the most inconsiderate towards the fuel prices. Since they have a cascading effect across all economic activities, the government's inactions speak of its cluelessness and misguided focus."
According to him, crude oil prices have been falling consistently for the past few months and stand at a seven-month low. "But the prices of petrol and diesel in our country don't seem to reflect this trend, even after deregulation, which means that the prices of petrol and diesel should change as per the global prices," he said.
The Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC, Government of India) reported that Crude Oil Indian Basket as on September 8 was USD 88.00 per bbl.
It was in July that the government slashed excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 8 and Rs 6 a litre, reflecting a reduction of rates by Rs 9.5 per litre and Rs 7 per litre, respectively.
Vallabh pointed out, "After elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, the petrol and diesel prices were increased nine times in 10 days between March 20 and March 31."