New Delhi, March 22 (FN Agency) Congress on Tuesday launched a scathing attack at the Centre over the fuel and domestic gas cylinder price hike, accusing it of ‘looting’ people. The grand old party which received a severe drubbing in the recently concluded Assembly election in the five states, asserted that it will keep fighting on these issues unless the public gets relief. “Modi government has again increased the prices of all essential commodities and looting the poor people. This is an injustice, we will keep fighting so that people get relief,” Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters here. Endorsing Kharge, Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, “Our apprehension has come true that after the Assembly elections in five states, the prices of petrol, diesel and gas will be increased. The way exploitation of poor people is going on we are against it. We will continue to raise these issue within and outside the Parliament.”
Congress member from the Upper House, Anand Sharma said, “It is very clear that the government was just waiting for the election results to be out. Once again it has hurt the poor without any justification.” “If the previous government could manage without hurting the poor. This government has mismanaged the economy. It can only give tax relief to all the rich ones,” he said. Earlier in the day, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi slammed the Modi government over the same and called it an “inflation epidemic”. “The ‘lockdown’ on prices of gas, diesel and petrol has been lifted. The government will continuously ‘develop’ the prices amid the ‘inflation pandemic’. Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) will say ‘thali bajao’ if he is asked about it,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted. The Congress has demanded that the Centre restore the prices of petrol, diesel and gas cylinder at the level where it was during the Congress-led UPA government. The reaction came after oil marketing companies increased the prices of petrol and diesel by 80 paise on Tuesday amid a sharp jump in the international oil prices. The price of domestic cooking gas has also been hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder.