Rahul Gandhi said the decision has dealt the greatest blow to the vulnerable and the poor (File)
New Delhi:
The government should stop “taking advantage” of petrol and diesel and immediately cancel price increases and excise duties on fuels, Congressman Rahul Gandhi said on Monday.
The former party chairman also said that gasoline and diesel prices are rising steadily in the country while world crude oil prices continue to fall.
“The biggest ill-advised decision the government has taken has been to increase gasoline and diesel prices 22 times since May 25. Not once but 22 times, they have raised gas prices and diesel, which dealt the greatest damage to the vulnerable and the poor, “said Gandhi.
Many party leaders spread their messages during the campaign to urge the government to cut fuel prices.
“The government should stop taking advantage of gasoline and diesel and should immediately cut prices and excise duties on them,” he said in a social media video message.
“We demand an immediate reversal of the increases in gasoline and diesel prices and excise taxes on both products. We should all speak with one voice, so only the government will understand, the prices of gasoline will be reduced, “said Gandhi.
The head of Congress said the country is experiencing a COVID-19-induced crisis and unemployment and added that these storms spared no one.
Each section of society was “injured”, but the maximum damage was done to farmers, traders and the middle and working classes, he said.
He said Congress had said earlier that the government should move forward to help the vulnerable and the middle class, and made two suggestions.
The first was to prepare a package along the lines of the minimum income guarantee scheme, he said, adding that the scheme could be implemented for three months, if not a year, and that the money should be paid directly in the accounts of the poor every month.
With that, the poorest of the poor and the weakest would get relief, said Gandhi.
The second was, said the President of Congress, “we have asked the government to secure micro, small and medium enterprises, which employ 40% of our population.”
The government must save them from bankruptcy and give them a package, he said.
“But the government did not accept this too. Instead, it gave up loans worth several hundred thousand capitalists and put money in their pockets,” said Gandhi .
Congress demands that the government immediately cancel excise duties and price increases on gasoline and diesel, he said in his video message.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
