Accusing the government of “looting” people by increasing excise duty on petrol and diesel, the Congress on Sunday (April 13, 2025) called for fixing accountability and demanded that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit how government policies benefited private companies.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images
Accusing the government of “looting” people by increasing excise duty on petrol and diesel, the Congress on Sunday (April 13, 2025) called for fixing accountability and demanded that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit how government policies benefited private companies.
The Opposition party also demanded that the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigate whether there was deliberate negligence or collusion in this matter.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X stated, “The people of India are being looted — on one hand, the Modi government is increasing the tax burden and picking people’s pockets, while on the other hand, private and government oil companies are making profits! This is open economic exploitation!”
“The truth is: In May 2014, the excise duty on petrol was ₹9.20 and on diesel ₹3.46. Under the Modi government, this has risen to ₹19.90 on petrol and ₹15.80 on diesel — an increase of 357% and 54%, respectively!” he said in his post in Hindi.
The Congress leader claimed that the government earned ₹39.54 lakh crore from the petroleum sector over the last eleven years but failed to give any relief to people.
“In May 2014, crude oil was $108/barrel, today it is only $65.31 — i.e. 40% cheaper, yet the prices of petrol and diesel are higher than the UPA era,” Mr. Ramesh said.
“In 2014, petrol in Delhi was ₹71.41 and diesel ₹55.49 per litre. Today the same petrol is ₹94.77 and diesel ₹87.67 per litre — the public is being openly looted. Who is benefiting?” he asked.
The Congress leader said along with government companies, the private oil companies are also earning huge profits from refining and marketing, while the common man is burdened with expensive petrol and diesel.
“The issue is serious! CAG should audit how the government policies benefited these private companies. CVC and CBI should investigate whether there was deliberate negligence or collusion in this?” Mr. Ramesh further stated.
“Public money needs to be accounted for — accountability must be fixed.”
The Congress general secretary shared a media report, which stated that oil firms were benefiting big time but now lowering prices for people.
The Congress had last week taken a swipe at the government over the hike in excise duty on petrol and diesel, with Rahul Gandhi stating Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally gave a befitting reply to “tariffs”.
Mr. Gandhi had also said that people suffering from inflation had been given another gift of “government loot”.
The government hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel by ₹2 per litre each. The excise duty on petrol was hiked to ₹13 per litre and that on diesel to ₹10 a litre.
Published – April 13, 2025 10:08 pm IST