New Delhi, February 21: Amid the fuel price hike in India, Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over rising fuel prices. In the letter, the Congress President urged the Modi government at the Centre to roll back the increase in the petrol and diesel prices in India. "I urge you to roll back these increases and pass on the benefit to our middle & salaried class, our farmers & poor and our fellow citizens," she wrote.

In the letter, Sonia Gandhi said, "I fail to understand how any government can justify such thoughtless and insensitive measures directly at the cost of our people." She said that the Modi Government has increased excise duty on Diesel by 820% & on Petrol by 258% over and collected upwards of Rs 21 lakh crore in the last six and a half years. "This unaccounted-for windfall is yet to be passed to the people for whose benefit it was ostensibly collected", he said. Fuel Rate Today: Petrol Price Touches All-Time High at Rs 97 Per Litre in Mumbai, Diesel Crosses Rs 88 Mark.

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Gandhi said Governments are elected to ease the burden of our people and at the very least, not work directly contrary to their interests. "I urge you to roll back these increases and pass on the benefit to our middle & salaried class, our farmers & poor and our fellow citizens. It is they who are battling an unprecedented economic slowdown, widespread unemployment, wage reductions & job losses, high prices and erosion of income", she said.  "I hope you will agree that it is time for your Government to focus on solutions instead of looking for excuses. India deserves better", Gandhi added in the letter.

On Sunday, oil marketing companies (OMC) kept the prices of the fuel unchanged across metros.  In the past 12 days, petrol prices have increased in the range of Rs 3.2 per litre (Kolkata) to Rs 3.63 a litre in Delhi. On Sunday, price of the fuel in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata was at Rs 90.58, Rs 97.00, Rs 92.59, Rs 91.7 per litre, respectively, unchanged from the previous levels.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 21, 2021 06:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).