Lucknow: Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday tore into state minister Upendra Tiwari for his bizarre remark that 95 per cent people do not need petrol and diesel.
Hitting out at the state minister, Akhilesh said that the truth is that those people who Tiwari said do not need petrol and diesel actually do not need the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Tiwari had on Thursday said that only a handful of people use four-wheelers and need petrol. He added that 95 per cent of the people do not need petrol.
"The BJP minister of Uttar Pradesh said that expensive petrol does not bother the general public because 95 per cent of the people do not need petrol. Now, even the minister will not need it as the people will make him 'paidal' (out of power). The truth is that 95 per cent of the people do not need the BJP," Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi.
To this, former UP CM also asked if Thar need diesel? This was in reference to the recent Lakhimpur Kheri incident where four farmers were allegedly mowed down by a jeep (Mahindra Thar) driven by BJP workers.
Petrol and diesel prices rallied to their highest-ever levels across the country as fuel rates were hiked again for a second consecutive day by the highest margin so far this year of up to over 45 paise a litre.
The pump price of petrol in Delhi rose by 35 paise to its highest-ever level of Rs 106.89 a litre while diesel prices also rose by the same margin to Rs 95.62 a litre.