- Home
- India
Govt 'profiting off' people's misery, says Sonia Gandhi in letter to PM Modi over soaring fuel prices
YB WEB DESK. Dated: 2/22/2021 1:30:43 PM
New Delhi, Feb 21 In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has accused the government of "profiting off people's misery and suffering" by increasing prices of fuel in India. In her letter, Gandhi says, "On one hand, India is witnessing systematic erosion of jobs, wages and household income. The middle class and those at the margins of our society are struggling. These challenges have been compounded by run away inflation and an unprecedented rise in price of almost all household items and essential commodities. Sadly, in these distressing times, the Government has chosen to profiteer off people’s misery & suffering [sic]." She further adds, "Petrol has breached the 100/litre mark in many parts of the country. To put it in context, the crude oil price is nearly half of what it was during the UPA Government’s tenure. Therefore, your Government’s act of raising prices [continuously for 12 days till February 20th] is little less than a brazen act of profiteering." Gandhi further said that the government has increased excise duty on diesel by 820 per cent and on petrol by over 258 per cent and collected upwards of Rs 21 lakh crore in the last six and a half years. "This unaccounted-for windfall is yet to be passed to the people for whose benefit it was ostensibly collected.