“LPG, gasoline, and diesel costs are rising. Voters are mature enough to comprehend why prices are increasing”, MLA representing the Hubli-Dharwad West seat Aravind Bellad remarked. India is the world’s third-largest crude oil importer (and user), yet Afghanistan is not among its top sellers. According to Reuters, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, the United States, and Canada are the top six nations supplying crude oil to India.
The situation in Afghanistan can affect oil and gas prices, although the extent of that impact is unknown at this time since the international world (especially oil-producing nations) remains wary in dealing with the Taliban and a nascent Afghan government. India’s crude oil imports fell to an eight-month low in June, according to Reuters, as refiners reduced processing in the face of a turbulent second wave of the coronavirus.
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The administration of Narendra Modi has been under fire from both the opposition and public members for the continuous rise in fuel (petrol and diesel) and LPG cylinder prices over the last several months, with lakhs of people struggling to make ends meet amid a pandemic.
The administration has justified itself by blaming the opposition; last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the government could not reduce prices because it had to cover the cost of oil bonds granted to firms by the Congress-led UPA government.
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Congress retaliated forcefully, accusing the government of earning more than Rs. Twenty-three lakh crores in the seven years that the BJP has been in power. Mr Gandhi said that the price of an LPG cylinder had risen from 410 to 885 since the UPA left the government, representing a 116 per cent increase. Since 2014, he claimed, gasoline prices have climbed by 42%, and diesel prices have risen by almost 55%.
