Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the record hike in petrol and diesel prices, claiming that his government was busy collecting taxes while the public is plaqued with inflation.
"Modi ji has shown tremendous growth in 'GDP' i.e. gas-diesel-petrol prices! The public is plagued by inflation, Modi government is busy in tax collection," Mr Gandhi wrote in a tweet in Hindi.
Petrol and diesel prices in the country on Saturday touched new all-time highs after rates were increased for the fourth time this week.
Petrol is currently being sold at Rs 85.70 per litre in Delhi and Rs 92.28 in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, Diesel rate climbed to Rs 75.88 a litre in the national capital and to Rs 82.66 per litre in Mumbai, the price data showed.
This is the second consecutive day of rate increase and the fourth this week. In all prices have gone up by Re 1 per litre this week.
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan earlier this week blamed Saudi oil output cut for the surge in oil prices but remained non-committal on tax cuts.
"We have to import 80 per cent of crude oil of our requirement. Due to coronavirus, many oil-producing countries stopped production or reduced it. There is a pressure on fuel price due to imbalance in demand and supply," Mr Pradhan was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Top oil explorer Saudi Arabia has pledged additional voluntary output cuts of 1 million barrels per day in February and March, which has led to price climbing to most since the pandemic broke out.
State-owned fuel retailers -- Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) -- had on January 6 resumed daily price revision after nearly a month.
Since then, rates have gone up by Rs 1.99 a litre on petrol and Rs 2.01 in case of diesel.
With inputs from agencies
"Rahul Gandhi Too...": BJP MP's Jibe After Assassination Attempt On Trump BJP Accuses Congress Of Inciting Violence Against PM Modi With 'Maut' And 'Hinsa' Remarks "Take Immediate Action": Rahul Gandhi On INDIA's Bihar Ally Brutal Murder The 'Fake' CrowdStrike Worker Who Crippled Windows Users Worldwide 500 Para Commandos To Hunt Pakistani Terrorists In Jammu After Attacks Over 300 Indian Students Return As Quota Row Sparks Violence In Bangladesh On Sonu Sood's Post About Kanwar Yatra Order, Kangana Ranaut's Rejoinder Salma Hayek Is A Garden Full Of Daisies Summed In A Dress Dutch Content Creator Finds Hotel Room For $1.4 In Pak, Internet Reacts Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.