NEW DELHI: Oil minister Hardeep Puri on Monday hit out at the Congress government in Karnataka for raising fuel prices by Rs 3 a litre, saying the people are being made to pay for the freebie follies of the party’s “young leader” — an indirect reference to Rahul Gandhi’s campaign promise of annual dole for women if the party was voted to power at the Centre.
“It was a question of credibility before the Karnataka government. They made bus ride free and given free this and free that. Now they needed money to fulfil the khata-khat, khata-khat promise made by their young leader during (LS) poll campaign. So they decided to raise fuel prices, making people pay for the scheme,” Puri said without naming Rahul.
The Congress had promised to launch annual social security dole of Rs 1 lakh if voted to power at the Centre. Rahul’s use of ‘khata-khat’, a colloquial expression for quick or immediately, caught the fancy of voters during the campaign. Thermal Congress had also promised a Rs 2,000 monthly payout for women during the May 2023 assembly election.
Puri said the party had distributed pamphlets looking like some guarantee document during the (LS) poll campaign. “Women are landing up to claim their first instalment of Rs 8,500,” he said.
On fuel prices being still higher in several states where BJP and/or its allies are in power, Puri said the hikes were affected by previous dispensations. On why the BJP and its allies are not bringing down the prices by paring state levies, he said many BJP-ruled states had done so in the past, matching the Centre’s excise duty reduction.
Petrol, for example costs Rs 106.45 a litre in Bhopal, Rs 105.16 in Patna (BJP in coalition with JD-U), Rs 104.86 in Jaipur and Rs 104.19 in Mumbai. Even after the June 15 increase in state levies from 25.92% to 29.84% on petrol and from 14.3% to 18.4% on diesel, fuel in Karnataka is still cheaper than neighbouring states.
“It was a question of credibility before the Karnataka government. They made bus ride free and given free this and free that. Now they needed money to fulfil the khata-khat, khata-khat promise made by their young leader during (LS) poll campaign. So they decided to raise fuel prices, making people pay for the scheme,” Puri said without naming Rahul.
The Congress had promised to launch annual social security dole of Rs 1 lakh if voted to power at the Centre. Rahul’s use of ‘khata-khat’, a colloquial expression for quick or immediately, caught the fancy of voters during the campaign. Thermal Congress had also promised a Rs 2,000 monthly payout for women during the May 2023 assembly election.
Puri said the party had distributed pamphlets looking like some guarantee document during the (LS) poll campaign. “Women are landing up to claim their first instalment of Rs 8,500,” he said.
On fuel prices being still higher in several states where BJP and/or its allies are in power, Puri said the hikes were affected by previous dispensations. On why the BJP and its allies are not bringing down the prices by paring state levies, he said many BJP-ruled states had done so in the past, matching the Centre’s excise duty reduction.
Petrol, for example costs Rs 106.45 a litre in Bhopal, Rs 105.16 in Patna (BJP in coalition with JD-U), Rs 104.86 in Jaipur and Rs 104.19 in Mumbai. Even after the June 15 increase in state levies from 25.92% to 29.84% on petrol and from 14.3% to 18.4% on diesel, fuel in Karnataka is still cheaper than neighbouring states.