Tamil Nadu CM Vijay slams fuel price hike by Centre, seeks immediate rollback citing burden on poor

Chennai:

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay has strongly criticised the recent increase in fuel prices. He called the move “unacceptable” and urged the Union Government to immediately reverse the decision. In a sharp statement, CM Vijay alleged that such hikes place an additional financial burden on ordinary citizens, particularly the poor, lower-income groups, and the middle class, as well as micro and small-scale industries.

“The Union Government’s public sector oil companies have increased the prices of petroleum products, particularly by Rs 3 per litre for petrol and Rs 3 per litre for diesel. This is unacceptable,” he said.

He further argued that fuel pricing lacks fairness and consistency, pointing out that reductions in international crude oil prices are not adequately reflected at the retail level. He argued that oil marketing companies retain the gains instead of passing the benefit on to consumers.

“When crude oil prices decline in the international market, oil companies do not correspondingly reduce the prices of petrol and diesel. Instead, these companies retain the profits for themselves,” the Chief Minister noted.

He also raised concerns over the timing of the price hike, suggesting it came immediately after the conclusion of Assembly elections in five states, calling the move politically insensitive.

“This hike in petroleum product prices immediately after the conclusion of the Assembly elections in five states is not acceptable,” he said.

Fuel prices hiked by Rs 3 per litre as OMC losses mount

State-run oil marketing companies have raised the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 3 per litre each. This is the first increase in fuel prices in more than four years. The revision has come at a time when global crude oil conditions have been under pressure due to unrest in the Middle East.

The price hike follows comments made by Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. He stated that the three public fuel retailers are facing losses of around Rs 1,000 crore every day. He also said that the total losses in a single quarter are enough to cancel out the profits earned by these companies over an entire year.

Earlier, on March 27, the government had reduced excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 per litre each. That step was taken to help protect consumers from rising international oil prices.

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