The fuel price hike announced by the Union government on Friday (May 15, 2026), days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured victories in Assembly elections in three of the five States, including West Bengal, where it formed the government for the first time, has drawn sharp criticism from the Opposition. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the public was being forced to pay for the Narendra Modi government’s mistakes.
Petrol and diesel prices were raised by ₹3 per litre each, marking the first increase in more than four years, as state-run fuel retailers passed on part of the impact of surging global crude prices following the Iran war.
In a post in Hindi on X, Mr. Gandhi said, “Galti Modi sarkaar ki, keemat janta chukayegi (The public will pay the price for the Modi government’s mistake).” “The ₹3 shock has already arrived, the rest of the ‘vasooli (recovery)’ will be done in installments,” he said.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh underlined that when international oil prices were declining, the benefit was not passed on to Indian consumers. “Now that international oil prices are climbing up because of the war in West Asia unleashed by the PM’s good friends — the U.S. and Israel — and Assembly elections are over, the Modi Govt has increased petrol and diesel prices after having hiked commercial LPG prices earlier. This is bound to lead to further inflation, which is now projected to be close to 6% for this financial year. Growth estimates will be lowered considerably,” he said.
Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien questioned whether the newly elected BJP government in West Bengal would reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel. He posted on X, “Will the Bengal Govt reduce VAT on petrol & diesel now that there’s a Delhi-controlled government which doesn’t have to worry about funds being blocked by Centre?”
The Left parties have called for a rollback of the price hike. The CPI(M) Polit Bureau, in a statement, said the increase would “impose more burdens” on people already facing inflation, unemployment, stagnant wages and economic distress. It also questioned the oil marketing companies’ claim that they were facing “under-recoveries” due to rising global crude prices. “The term ‘under-recovery’ itself is a misnomer. It does not signify real losses incurred by OMCs; rather, it refers to a hypothetical deficit between current revenues and the larger profits they would have earned if fuel prices had been allowed to increase further,” the party said. It added that the hike had been held back by the Union government in view of the elections.
CPI general secretary D. Raja said that the burden of the hike would be felt in every household’s budget. “While people are being asked to tighten their belts through austerity measures, the Modi government continues to protect corporate profiteers and pass the entire burden of its failures onto the people,” he said.
The crisis, he said, was the outcome of Prime Minister Modi’s disastrous foreign policy and his complete surrender of India’s strategic autonomy before the United States and Donald Trump. “India was pressured into cutting energy imports from Russia and Iran, weakening our energy security and exposing the country to global shocks and manipulation. Today the nation is paying the price for a foreign policy driven not by national interest but by political servility,” Mr. Raja added.
Published - May 15, 2026 09:40 pm IST
