BJP defends move, Oppn parties slam Government

PTI, May 15, 2026, New Delhi : The BJP on Friday defended the hike in fuel prices, claiming that India managed to shield citizens from the global oil shock for more than two months while implementing only a "limited and calibrated" increase, even as several countries witnessed a steep price rise.

In a post on X, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said India recorded one of the lowest increases among major economies, with petrol prices rising by 3.2 per cent and diesel by 3.4 per cent.

"The Rs 3 per litre increase announced on May 15 is effectively the first fuel price hike in nearly four years, and on a base price of around Rs 95 per litre, it translates to only about a 3.5 per cent increase," Malviya said.

"India emerged as a distinct and noteworthy exception in this entire picture. India recorded the lowest increase among major economies," he added.

"For 76 days after the West Asia crisis intensified, India's public sector oil marketing companies did not pass on the full burden of rising international crude oil prices to consumers. They absorbed a significant portion of the cost themselves," he said.

However, the Congress on Friday attacked the Modi government over the petrol and diesel price hike, saying it is bound to lead to further inflation and growth estimates will be lowered considerably.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that with international oil prices soft or declining for years, the Indian National Congress had been urging that those benefits should be passed on to Indian consumers and that domestic prices of gas, petrol and diesel should be reduced.

That, however, did not happen and consumers were "fleeced", he said.

The Trinamool Congress too launched a sharp attack on the Narendra Modi-led government, accusing the Centre of "cheating" citizens after the elections and presiding over a worsening economic situation.

Addressing a press conference here, TMC Rajya Sabha Deputy Leader Sagarika Ghose alleged that the government concealed the severity of the energy and economic situation during the election campaign and imposed the burden on ordinary citizens only after the polls were over.