Rahul Gandhi has hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him “inflation‑driven Modi” and accusing the government of quietly slashing people’s pockets through gradual hikes in petrol and diesel prices. In a post on X, Gandhi wrote that he has been warning for months about an economic storm, but claimed Modi was preoccupied with elections and, immediately after the polls ended, made petrol and diesel around Rs 8 per litre more expensive. He alleged that fuel prices are being raised in instalments so that the public barely notices while their expenses keep climbing. Gandhi also said that the price hikes will continue and argued that the Prime Minister’s record is one of making promises during elections and then attacking the people’s finances at all other times.

Congress terms 4th fuel hike as ‘silent tax’

Congress leaders slammed the Centre after petrol and diesel rates were raised for the fourth time in under two weeks, calling the repeated increases a “silent tax on every Indian household” and accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of protecting corporate interests. The opposition on Monday (May 25) said successive hikes will push up household costs, transport fares and inflation and questioned why prices were being raised rapidly even as state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) report hefty profits.

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“Frequent petrol and diesel hikes are not just price increases. They are a silent tax on every Indian household. The poor pay for it in bus fares, vegetables, milk, school transport and daily essentials. The middle class pays for it through petrol bills, EMIs, groceries and children’s expenses,” Karnataka Minister and Congress leader Priyank Kharge wrote on X, condemning the continuing upward trajectory of fuel prices.

Kharge pointed to broader economic concerns, saying the government’s appeals to patriotic sacrifice ring hollow while unemployment, falling incomes and other signs of economic mismanagement remain unaddressed.

‘A corporate protection racket’

Congress MP Manickam Tagore accused the Centre of favouring corporate interests, particularly private refineries and boards of state-run firms. “Modi doesn’t work for you. He works for IOC boardrooms and Ambani refineries. This is not an oil crisis. This is a CORPORATE PROTECTION RACKET,” Tagore wrote on X, arguing that consumers are bearing the burden while companies profit.

Tagore also presented comparative price figures to underscore his point: “In 2014 crude was about USD 114 per barrel and petrol was around Rs 72 per litre. In 2016 crude fell to USD 26, petrol was around Rs 64 per litre. In 2026 crude is around USD 97 per barrel and petrol is Rs 103 per litre.” He said policy choices — not only global prices — have kept retail fuel expensive.

‘If OMCs made profts, why is there a fuel hike?’: Manish Tewari

Congress MP Manish Tewari questioned the rationale for incremental, “creeping” increases when state-run OMCs are reporting strong earnings. Citing official figures, Tewari said the three PSU OMCs made a combined profit of Rs 77,280.65 crore in FY2025-26 — a 130% jump over the previous year — and earned Rs 19,470 crore in Q4 alone, up about 40% year‑on‑year.

“Why @HardeepSPuri Why? State-run OMCs made whopping profits in FY 2025-26… When these OMCs have made super profits why is the price of Petrol and Diesel being increased every day in a creeping manner?” he asked on X, calling the pricing regime “repressive”.

Tagore expanded on this theme, accusing oil companies of “making hay” while consumers “paid” during periods when companies were profitable and saying that when crude surged in 2026, prices were passed on to consumers within days.

Fourth fuel hike in less than 2 weeks

The latest revision, the fourth since early May, pushed petrol prices in Delhi above the Rs 100 mark. In the national capital, petrol rose by Rs 2.61 to Rs 102.12 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.71 to Rs 95.20 per litre. Major metros recorded similar increases: Kolkata petrol rose to Rs 113.51 and diesel to Rs 99.82; Mumbai petrol to Rs 111.21 and diesel to Rs 97.83; Chennai petrol to Rs 107.77 and diesel to Rs 99.55; Jaipur petrol at Rs 112.66 and diesel at Rs 97.78. CNG prices in Delhi were also raised by Rs 1 per kg earlier in the week, adding to transport-sector pressures.

Officials point to volatility in global crude markets, currency fluctuations and supply risks arising from geopolitical tensions in West Asia, particularly fears around the Strait of Hormuz, as key drivers behind the price increases. Any perceived threat to supply routes often triggers sharp rises in international oil prices, which domestic pump prices tend to follow.

Economic fallout ahead?

Congress warned the hikes would ripple through the economy. Higher fuel costs raise logistics and transportation expenses, which translate into higher prices for food and essentials and push up retail inflation. Commuters and small transport operators voiced frustration, with many saying the repeated hikes were “tough for the common man”.

Senior Congress figures argued the political cost for the government is rising as ordinary households and businesses face mounting expenses. “While the OMCs are making hay people are being crushed under a repressive pricing regime? Is this governance?” Tewari asked.

What is the Centre saying?

So far the Petroleum Ministry has defended market-linked pricing and pointed to international drivers. The Centre has in the past argued that keeping petroleum product prices artificially low would strain public finances and the viability of OMCs, and that duty adjustments remain a policy lever. Ministers have also blamed currency weakening and supply-side risks for recent volatility.

The successive hikes give opposition parties a rallying point. Congress, by accusing the government of running a “pro-corporate” pricing regime while OMCs report record profits, aims to frame the issue as one of governance and fairness ahead of key state elections. The BJP is likely to counter by pointing to global market pressures and the need to safeguard fiscal stability.