New Delhi, March 15: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi jabbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi again on Sunday on the issue of petrol and diesel prices. Slamming the Centre's decision raise to the excise duty on fuel, the Gandhi scion said the government should had instead passed on the benefits of low crude oil prices to the consumers. His remarks came a day after the Modi government raised excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 3 per litre.

Gandhi took to Twitter to point out that he had recommended the government on Thursday to pass on the benefits of unprecedented slip in global oil prices to the consumers. The reduced fuel prices would end up increasing the consumption power of the people -- which would boost demand amid the ongoing economic slowdown, the former Congress president had argued.

“Just 3 days ago I had requested @PMOIndia to pass on the benefit of the global oil price crash to Indian consumers, by slashing the prices of petrol & diesel in India. Instead of heeding this advice, our genius has gone and hiked #exciseduty on fuel!” Gandhi tweeted.

See Rahul Gandhi's Tweet

Along with his tweet, the Wayanad MP also posted a clip from a press conference of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. In the video, Sitharaman could be seen resorting to a muted response on being asked by journalists whether the benefits of low crude oil prices would be passed on to the consumers.

The brent crude oil prices are hovering around $35 per barrel, nearly half of their monetary strength as compared to December 2019. The sharp reduction in prices came amid a diplomatic faceoff between Russia and the Saudi Arabia, with both sides refusing to reduce their supplies despite a weakened global demand due to coronavirus pandemic.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 15, 2020 04:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).