Petrol and diesel rates at record high: 'How will common man survive?'

The people of the country felt "cheated" by the Narendra Modi government in the wake of the increased prices of petrol and diesel, AAP's chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj was quoted by news agency PTI.

New Delhi: The soaring prices of petrol and diesel each day are causing a serious hit to the common man’s pocket.  Opposition has blamed the Centre for forcing the oil companies to keep the prices unchanged for 19 days so that it doesn’t influence the Karnataka elections. Petrol prices have been increased by Rs. 2.24/litre in Delhi, Rs 2.22/litre in Mumbai, Rs 2.21/litre in Kolkata and Rs 2.36/litre in Chennai since May 13. The prices of diesel have been hiked by Rs. 2.15/litre, Rs. 2/litre, Rs. 2.28/litre and Rs. 2.31/litre, respectively. The prices of petrol & diesel touched Rs 84.70/litre & Rs 72.48/litre in Mumbai respectively; Locals question, “Prices here are much higher than other states. How are we supposed to survive in this situation?” The price of petrol per litre in Delhi is Rs 76.87 while it was Rs 74.63 on May 13. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has said it had "adversely" affected the livelihood of the common man. The people of the country felt "cheated" by the Narendra Modi government in the wake of the increased prices of petrol and diesel, AAP's chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj was quoted by news agency PTI. "The Modi government is responsible for the inflation all around. From fruits and vegetables to petrol and diesel -- everything is severely affected by the daily price hikes," he added. Despite a fall in the price of crude oil in the international market, the fuel prices were going up in the country, because the BJP government had increased the excise duty and taxes on petroleum products, alleged another AAP leader, Raghav Chadha. Reacting to the surge in oil rates, Congress leader Ragini Nayak said she "failed to understand ‘Modinomics and Jaitleynomics’." "Only in India prices are high. They told oil companies to not raise prices during Karnataka polls. This is the transparency they are boasting about," Ragini told ABP News in a telephonic conversation. Meanwhile, Indian Oil Corporation will be briefing the media regarding the hike in fuel prices this afternoon.