“Mehangai is a daily event”: Salman Khurshid blames Modi Govt for ‘looting’ commoners

Khurshid alleged that instead of addressing the primary issues of inflation, Modi government has been keeping the country busy in controversies of food, dress, hijab, etc.

Time8 Webdesk
April 9, 2022
7:20 pm

Guwahati: Senior national leader of Congress party, Salman Khurshid, on Saturday said that ‘Mehangai’ (price rise) is a “daily event” being celebrated to mock the people by BJP and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government.

Khurshid alleged that instead of addressing the primary issues of inflation, the Modi government has been only keeping the country busy in ‘meaningless’ controversies of food, dress, hijab, etc.

Addressing the media here, the national leader alleged that the diktat of the cruel, the cumbersome & the back-breaking ‘price rise’ imposed by Modi government with effect from April 1 has shattered the budget of every household in India.

He said, “There is the 14th (as on April 7, 2022) increase in prices of petrol and diesel in last 17 days. The price of petrol and diesel has gone up by Rs 9.20/litre across India. As per Centre’s ‘Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell’, consumption of Petrol in the year 2020-21 was 27,969 thousand metric tonnes. At a price increase of Rs. 9.20/ litre, the additional yearly burden on people comes to 25,731 Crores.”

Similarly, for diesel also, the additional yearly burden on people comes to Rs. 66,896 Crores.

He reminded that when Congress-UPA government was in power petrol and diesel was at Rs 71.41 and Rs 55.49 per litre respectively, which have now been increased to Rs 105.66/ litre and Rs 91.40/litre in Guwahati.

“In May, 2014 (when BJP assumed power), excise duty on petrol was Rs.9.20 per litre and on diesel was Rs.3.46 per litre. In the last eight years, the BJP Government has increased the excise duty on petrol by an additional 18.70 per litre and on diesel by an additional Rs.18.34 per litre. This is a shocking 531% hike in excise duty on diesel and 203% increase in excise duty on petrol. Thus, Modi government has earned Rs.26, 00,000 Crore (26 Lakh Crore) in eight years by increasing excise duty on petrol and diesel alone,” he said.

At the same time, Khurshid also blamed the NDA government for hiking the LPG cylinder prices heavily. “Since March 2021, the price hike for domestic gas cylinder is Rs 140.50. As per ‘Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell’, consumption of LPG in the year 2020-21 was 27,384 thousand metric tonnes. At a price increase of Rs. 140.50 per cylinder, the additional yearly burden on people comes to Rs. 27,095 Crores,” he informed.

While saying that Congress would continue to fight for the inflation in the country, the politician added that there was not a single sphere of a citizen’s life, where prices have not increased.