Bangalore, March 27 AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of attempting to "deceive" the public by announcing a reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel, alleging that this move would benefit oil companies but provide no relief to ordinary people.
He described this move as "fiscal management, convenient accounting, and headline management" by the central government, warning of further increases in petrol, diesel, and gas prices after the upcoming assembly elections in several states.
The government has reduced excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 per litre each, a move aimed at protecting domestic consumers from rising global oil prices triggered by the Middle East conflict, at an estimated cost of Rs 1.75 lakh crore.
Alongside, the government has reimposed duties on the export of diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF).
"Rs 43 lakh crore... Don't be surprised. That's the money collected by the Modi government and the BJP over the past 11 years," Surjewala claimed.
"Rs 1,000 crore per day for 11 years—that's how much the Modi government has been collecting by imposing excise and customs duties on petrol and diesel alone," he added.
Speaking to reporters, accompanied by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Surjewala said that with the West Asia crisis looming, Nayara Energy (formerly Essar Oil), the country's first private oil company, has raised petrol prices by Rs 5.30 per litre and diesel prices by Rs 3 per litre.
"According to us, this is a prelude to further increases in petrol, diesel, and gas prices. The BJP government is waiting for the conclusion of the April 9 and April 23 elections. After that, they will raise prices again—petrol and diesel by up to Rs 20 per litre and gas cylinders by up to Rs 500," he alleged.
Accusing the Modi government and the BJP of adopting a "deceive, mislead, distract" approach, the Congress leader said they have attempted to "mislead" the public by announcing a reduction in excise duty and presenting it as a price cut.
"They reduced excise duty on petrol from Rs 13 to Rs 10 per litre, and on diesel from Rs 10 per litre to zero, without providing any relief to ordinary people. This is fiscal management, convenient accounting, and headline management," he said.
He further alleged that the burden would ultimately fall on the public, with the government recovering the amount through other means. "It's like inflicting a thousand wounds and then merely putting a band-aid on them," he said.
Alleging that the Modi government's "deceptive and relentless" taxation of petrol and diesel over the past 11 years amounts to a "cycle of exploitation," Surjewala demanded answers from the Prime Minister and the BJP.
He said that by imposing excise duty on petrol and diesel over the last 11 years, the government has collected Rs 43 lakh crore, or about Rs 1,000 crore a day.
"If you add it up, it amounts to about Rs 42 lakh crore. We have added the current figure for 2026 to make it Rs 43 lakh crore. The simple question is: where has this money gone? Who has it?" he asked.
Pointing out that when the Congress demitted office on May 26, 2014, petrol was priced at Rs 71 per litre and diesel at Rs 56 per litre, he said that prices have now risen to Rs 102 and Rs 91 per litre, respectively.
"Even the price of crude oil when the Congress left office in 2014 was USD 108 per barrel. Before the West Asia crisis, the average price was around USD 70 per barrel, down by USD 38. If calculated accordingly, petrol should cost about Rs 61 per litre and diesel around Rs 56–57 per litre. The rest of the money is going into the government's coffers," he claimed.
He alleged that between 2014 and 2025, the Modi government imposed an average excise duty of Rs 19.70 per litre on petrol and Rs 15.50 per litre on diesel, accounting for about 25 per cent of petrol prices and 22 per cent of diesel prices.
Surjewala stated that, according to the Petroleum Minister (Hardeep Singh Puri), the reduction in excise duty would have a fiscal impact of Rs 30,000 crore per month, or Rs 3.6 lakh crore annually.
"While 20 per cent of the benefit will go to two private oil companies—Nayara Energy and Reliance—amounting to around Rs 70,000 crore, how much will the common people benefit? Zero. Not a single paisa," he alleged.
Accusing the Centre of having a "vicious design" to raise fuel prices after the elections, Surjewala claimed, citing past trends, "Voting for the BJP leads to higher prices of petrol, diesel, and gas. Punish the Modi government this time. Throw them out of power, and you can control inflation."
He further said that if the BJP and the Prime Minister cannot guarantee that fuel prices will remain stable after the polls, they should withdraw their candidates from all five states, including the Karnataka bypolls.
