Hyderabad, April 9 (NationPress) Bharat Rashtra Samithi's (BRS) Working President K.T. Rama Rao on Wednesday demanded that the Central government promptly reverse the hike in petrol, diesel, and LPG prices.

KTR, as the BRS leader is widely known, accused the Modi government of throwing the lives of Indian citizens into turmoil with its relentless fuel price escalations.

In a letter sent to Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, he criticized the Centre’s policies, arguing that India has become one of the most expensive countries worldwide for fuel, surpassing even Bhutan, Pakistan, and economically challenged Sri Lanka.

He pointed out the contradiction of rising domestic fuel prices despite a significant drop in international crude oil prices, accusing the Centre of exploiting citizens through excessive taxes. "Even as global crude prices fall, the Central government keeps hiking fuel prices. Is this the ‘Achche Din’ they promised?" he questioned.

He expressed anger over the Centre’s reliance on unshareable cesses, which he claimed are financially suffocating states while enriching the Union, labeling it a betrayal of cooperative federalism.

The BRS leader alleged that the PM Narendra Modi government is engaging in "serious economic exploitation" by increasing fuel prices through cesses, denying states like Telangana their fair share of revenue. “While states that significantly contribute to India’s economy struggle with budget shortfalls, the Centre utilizes illegally collected cess revenues to dominate them instead of enhancing infrastructure," KTR asserted. He further criticized the government’s slogan of "Minimum Government, Maximum Governance", claiming it has transformed into "Maximum Taxation, Minimum Relief".

In his letter, KTR emphasized the crushing burden of LPG prices, which have soared beyond Rs 1,100 per cylinder, making them unaffordable for impoverished and middle-class women. He described the much-publicized Ujjwala Yojana as a "cruel joke", highlighting that beneficiaries who once received cylinders with great fanfare are now compelled to revert to cooking with firewood due to rising costs. "The LPG price surge isn’t merely a statistic - it disrupts every aspect of life,” he remarked, adding that oil companies are set to gain billions while the underprivileged choose between gas and groceries.

Drawing a historical analogy, KTR recalled that even when crude oil prices surpassed $100 per barrel in the past, fuel costs in India were lower than they are now. He reminded the BJP of its prior protests against fuel prices during the UPA administration, accusing the party of hypocrisy.

"Ministers and BJP leaders once took to the streets demanding lower prices. Now, they impose burdens on the public while oil companies rake in billions," he stated, claiming that the Centre stabilizes prices during elections only to raise them afterward, deceiving voters.

KTR demanded an immediate rollback of the fuel and LPG price hikes, a significant reduction in central excise duties, the complete abolition of unshareable cesses, a transparent pricing mechanism aligned with international crude trends, the release of a White Paper detailing fuel taxes and revenue sharing, and a transition away from fiscal centralization toward genuine cooperative federalism.