Rahul Gandhi to lead protest against fuel hike prices in Delhi

|HT|

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will lead a protest against fuel hike prices in Delhi on Thursday. Gandhi, a vehement critic of the BJP-led government, has stepped up his offensive against the ruling party in the last few days amid a surge in fuel prices. According to news agency ANI, he is set to join a demonstration at the iconic Vijay Chowk in Delhi. The Congress launches its three phase campaign - 'Mehngai-mukt Bharat Abhiyaan' - against the centre from Thursday, which will continue till April 7. India saw another surge in fuel prices on Thursday - the ninth revision in 10 days - as per litre cost was raised by another 80 paise. Delhi now sells petrol at ₹101.81 per litre while diesel is being sold at ₹93.01 litre. In Mumbai, the country's financial capital, one litre of petrol now costs ₹116.72 while diesel costs ₹100.94 per litre.

The opposition has been attacking the government even as several union ministers have said the spike in prices is linked to the Ukraine war, which began February 24. The prices were surged after a break of four months and critics have linked it to the end of assembly elections in five states after the BJP claimed victory in four states. On Wednesday, Gandhi targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet, and said PM Modi has a "daily to-do list". "Prime Minister's daily to-do list - how much to increase in petrol, diesel and gas rates, how to stop discussion on rising expenses, how to show hollow dreams of employment to the youth, which public sector company to sell and how to make farmers more helpless," he wrote in Hindi. He used the hastag #RozSubahkiBaat, in a swipe over PM Modi's radio address - 'Mann Ki Baat'.

Apart from Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav is another opposition leader who has slammed the government.

Earlier this month, union minister Hardeep Singh Puri in parliament, amid the Ukraine war, said the fuel prices will ultimately be determined by the oil companies but the government is committed to ‘provide relief to consumers at point of consumption.’

(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)