Launching a scathing attack on the Union Government over the relentless surge in fuel prices, senior Congress leader and former Punjab Minister Vijay Inder Singla today stated that skyrocketing petrol and diesel rates have become an unbearable burden on ordinary Indian families. Singla slammed the government for its complete disconnect from ground realities, pointing out that repeated hikes in recent days have severely crippled household budgets across the country, turning essential living into an everyday struggle for the common man.
Singla emphasized that the impact of fuel price hikes is not limited to vehicle owners but triggers a vicious cycle of inflation that hits every section of society. Every hike in diesel directly inflates transport logistics, leading to an immediate rise in the prices of daily essentials like vegetables, milk, and medicines. The salaried middle class, workers, and homemakers are caught in a double whammy of stagnant incomes and a soaring cost of living.
Furthermore, increased school bus fees and rising operational costs for small traders are squeezing families that are already financially vulnerable, while farmers who rely heavily on diesel for tractors and irrigation pumps are seeing their input costs skyrocket. Exposing the flawed narrative around fuel pricing, Singla brought forward stark facts regarding global crude oil dynamics versus domestic taxation.
He pointed out that the nation is witnessing a bizarre economic model where global crude oil prices are significantly lower than they were in 2014, yet citizens are paying record-high prices at the pump. When global crude oil prices collapsed over the years, instead of passing the benefits of cheaper oil to the public, the Union Government chose to sharply increase excise duties and retain them for years to fill its own coffers.
"A responsible government must stand with its people in difficult times, not place an even greater financial burden on citizens already under immense stress." Singla stated that In agrarian economies like Punjab, this engineered inflation strikes at the very root of input cost survival, directly multiplying the operational costs of field preparation, irrigation, paddy cultivation, and fertilizer logistics for farmers already crushed under compressed crop margins and thin market returns.
Farmers who rely heavily on diesel are seeing their input costs skyrocket, thereby accelerating a structural crisis in the rural economy. He said, at a time when the public rightfully expects economic relief and hand-holding from the government, they are instead being forced to bear the brunt of relentless taxation and economic mismanagement.
According to Singla, the people of India deserve transparency, accountability, and immediate relief from a government that should prioritize ordinary families over favored corporations, livelihoods over corporate profits, and public welfare over political image management. Concluding his statement, Singla warned that this issue reflects a growing, dangerous disconnect between the day-to-day hardships faced by ordinary citizens and the priorities of those sitting in the corridors of power.