The Congress on Saturday called upon the BJP-led government to reduce excise duty to bring down the "unsustainably high fuel and cooking gas prices".
In a resolution adopted at the meeting of the Congress Working Committee, the party accused the Modi government of "mishandling the economy".
"The government has created an abyss of economic uncertainty that has swallowed the minimum income and savings of the average Indian," the party said.
"The Modi Government's actions in raising petrol and diesel prices is plain and simple extortion. To express it in numbers, the increase translates to an inconceivable 820 per cent hike in excise duty on diesel and a 258 per cent increase in excise duty on petrol (since 2014). The Modi Government has collected massive windfall gains, in excess of Rs 18,00,000 crore," it added.
The resolution said that "unaffordable prices of basic consumer goods have burnt a hole in the budget of every Indian" and referred to increase in prices of various commodities including cooking oil.
Congress said that the government "must introspect" at a time when the nation is recovering from a pandemic.
"No government across the world imposes such great economic pain on its people, through deliberately made policy as also through economic negligence. The CWC calls upon the Modi government to take immediate steps to reduce prices in all crucial sectors, to acknowledge the damage caused by poorly thought-out economic policy and to take urgent steps to remedy the same," the resolution said.
