Highlights
- Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha attacked Central government over inflation
- AAP leader announced that petrol prices have been hiked by 78 times, and diesel prices by 76 times
- He cited the figures as the government's reply to his question in the Rajya Sabha
Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha on Monday attacked the Central government over inflation and the rise in commodity prices. After the monsoon session of the Parliament, the AAP leader said that petrol prices have been hiked by 78 times, and diesel prices by 76 times.
He cited the figures as the government's reply to his question in the Rajya Sabha. He said that the government had "made Rs 16 lakh crore through the excise duty imposed on fuel between 2016 and 2022."
Chadha added that the increase in fuel has a cascading impact on (the price of) every other commodity. " The Centre doesn't even want to address inflation in the parliament," he alleged.
"Govt had witnessed Rs 1.5 lakh crore rise in revenue as compared to 2019-20," he said. "Despite these staggering collections, the government is relentlessly putting a burden on the poor and the common people by increasing fuel prices instead of giving financial relief to people reeling under inflation."
"This is a clear confession by the Government of looting the common man," he said.
Raghav Chadha invokes Vajpayee
The Rajya Sabha MP also alleged that the voices of the Opposition are being suppressed in the Parliament. "When Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the PM, the Opposition was treated with the same respect as the ruling govt. The present-day BJP should take a leaf out of the book of PM Vajpayee's BJP," he added.
