Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao on Thursday demanded that the BJP-led government at the Centre apologise to the nation for skyrocketing fuel prices. In an open letter to the Union government, KT Rama Rao alleged that the BJP-led government was burdening public by increasing fuel prices. He said that the Union government was looting the common people in the name of international crude oil prices as the reason for the fuel price hike, but its deceit has been exposed.
"In 2013, when the crude oil price was $110 per barrel, the price of petrol in the country was Rs 76 per litre. Now, the crude oil price is $66 per barrel but the price of petrol is Rs 110 per litre," he pointed out.
He alleged that the Centre was importing crude oil from Russia at cheaper prices, refining it, and exporting the fuel to other nations while keeping the public in the dark about the crucial information. The minister said that by raising prices just to help a few corporate companies, the Narendra Modi government was taking advantage of the poor and middle class. He pointed out that due to the 45 per cent increase in fuel prices since 2014, all essential commodity prices had increased.
The minister said that the state governments were forced to increase public transport fares due to the rise in diesel prices. The public transport system was in a crisis due to the Central government policies, he added.
He claimed that the central government was conspiring to prevent discussion on the price rise in Parliament, but said people were taking note of it. Rejecting the BJP was the only way to stop the looting by the Centre and also to bring down the fuel price, he suggested.
(With inputs from ABP Desam — It is a Telugu platform of ABP News. For more news, commentary and latest happenings from two Telugu states, follow https://telugu.abplive.com//amp)