'Vaah Modi Ji Vaah': Congress slams govt over fuel excise duty hike amid stock market woes

New Delhi: The Congress party on Monday sharply criticised the government over its decision to increase excise duty on petrol and diesel, accusing it of adding insult to injury amid losses from the stock market slump.

The government raised the excise duty on both petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre. The new excise duty rates are Rs 13 per litre for petrol and Rs 10 per litre for diesel.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Vaah Modi Ji Vaah!! International crude oil prices have fallen by 41 per cent compared to May 2014, but your plundering government, instead of reducing petrol and diesel prices, has increased the Central Excise Duty by Rs 2 each."

Kharge further remarked, "You must not have been satisfied after small and large investors lost Rs 19 lakh crore in a single blow due to the government’s deep 'Kumbhakaran-like' sleep on tariff policy, that you now come to rub salt into the wounds!"

While changes in taxes typically result in higher consumer prices, the government assured that there would be no increase in the retail selling price of petrol and diesel. The excise duty hike will be offset by reductions in retail prices, which had been warranted by the fall in international oil prices.

The oil ministry posted a statement on X confirming that public sector oil marketing companies had informed that the excise duty increase would not lead to a rise in retail prices.

International oil prices have recently fallen to their lowest levels since April 2021, driven by escalating trade tensions between the United States and China, which have raised concerns about a potential recession and a resulting drop in oil demand.