Congress Slams BJP Over Fuel Price Hike.

New Delhi; May 2026: Launching a sharp attack on the Central Government over surging fuel costs, Karnataka Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao today (Monday – 25th May 2026) accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led administration of manipulating fuel pricing structures to enrich the treasury at the expense of ordinary citizens. Criticising the Centre’s handling of oil revenues, Rao stated that the promised “dynamic pricing model” has been inverted to benefit only the government.

“The Modi government simply knows that when prices rise, the people have to bear the burden. When crude oil prices fall, the government benefits. So, this is dynamic pricing that we have adopted, meaning when crude oil prices fall, consumers should benefit. And when it rises, consumers have to pay. Here, it’s the opposite. When prices fall, they impose extra taxes, making them earn more money. When prices were low, only the central government benefited. And now that prices are rising, they give relief to the common man, right?” Rao told media reporters.

Simultaneously, ground-level resentment has reached a boiling point in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. In Guntur, citizens and motorists expressed severe anger over a fourth consecutive hike in petrol and diesel rates within a fortnight, which has hit operational costs for logistics and heavily squeezed household budgets. Local residents criticised both the Central and State governments for failing to shield consumer pricing. Many pointed out that during recent election campaigns in five states, the Prime Minister had personally assured the public that petrol, diesel, and cooking gas prices would not increase. They alleged that those assurances were completely broken as soon as the elections concluded.

Karnataka Congress in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala today has launched a sharp attack on BJP over the latest fuel price hike, alleging “massive loot” of the common man and accusing the government of repeatedly increasing petrol and diesel prices despite a fall in global crude oil rates.

Surjewala began his address by playing an old video clip of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which Modi is seen criticising rising fuel prices during the previous UPA government and promising relief from inflation. Reacting to the fresh fuel price revision, Surjewala said the burden on citizens had increased significantly in a short span of time.

“Today, as we got up in the morning, we were increased by Rs. 2.71 a litre. The second news was that the price of crude oil has gone down drastically, from USD 100 a barrel to USD 98.6 a barrel”, he said.

He further said that petrol prices in Bengaluru had crossed Rs. 110 per litre for the first time in decades. “These are the two lines that attracted the attention of my Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, as also every single brother and sister of Karnataka, every single Kannadiga and every single country. So, the petrol crosses Rs 110 for the first time in Bengaluru after 78 years of independence”, Surjewala said.

He alleged that the BJP government had “looted” the public over the past 12 years through fuel pricing. “There is a total of 57 lakh crore loot by the BJP in the last 12 years. Every day, fuel loot is pickpocketing the pockets of the common man, the common Kannadiga”, he said. Surjewala has also claimed that the last 11 days had been particularly difficult for consumers due to repeated hikes.

“The last 11 days have been catastrophic on the pockets and budget of the salaried class, farmers, businessmen, homemakers, small businessmen and common persons. With the Union BJP government unleashing fuel loot by raising the price of petrol and diesel four times in 11 days and now raising it total by Rs 7.52 per litre in the last 11 days”, he said. He termed the price hikes “unpardonable” and blamed the Centre for burdening the public. “This backbreaking, fleecing and defrauding of Kannadigas by the BJP is unpardonable”, Surjewala said. He also alleged that the additional burden extended beyond petrol and diesel to LPG, CNG and PNG prices, claiming it was pushing up the cost of daily essentials

This comes after petrol and diesel prices were hiked once again today, marking the fourth increase in less than two weeks amid continued volatility in global crude markets and ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia. Petrol prices in Delhi crossed the 100 rupees mark, rising by Rs 2.61 to Rs 102.12/litre, while diesel prices increased by Rs 2.71 to Rs 95.20/litre.

Similar hikes were witnessed across major metropolitan cities, including Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, adding to the burden on consumers and transport operators. The continued hikes in petrol, diesel and CNG prices are likely to increase logistics and transportation costs further, potentially triggering a cascading effect on retail inflation and impacting household budgets as well as commercial transport sectors across the country.

CURRENT PRICES ACROSS ALL STATES: AS OF 14:00 HOURS ON 25/05/2026

Team Maverick.