Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday, 15 May launched a pointed attack on the Central government over the steep increase in petrol and diesel prices, alleging that the financial weight of rising fuel costs is being systematically transferred onto ordinary citizens even as international crude oil prices remain volatile. Gehlot made the remarks while speaking to reporters at Sanganer Airport in Jaipur.

Gehlot's Core Allegations

The former Chief Minister argued that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had publicly predicted before the Bengal elections that fuel prices would be raised once polling concluded — and, according to Gehlot, 'exactly that has now happened.' He further claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent public appeals emphasising savings and restraint had already signalled to citizens that a price hike was imminent.

Gehlot drew a pointed historical comparison, noting that during the tenure of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, international crude oil prices had climbed as high as $115–120 per barrel under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, yet retail petrol and diesel prices did not reach the levels seen today. He alleged that while Modi had strongly criticised fuel inflation during that period, retail rates were not meaningfully reduced even after crude prices later fell to approximately $60 per barrel.

Taxation Structure Under Scrutiny

Gehlot also questioned the Centre's excise duty framework on fuel, alleging that the use of 'additional' and 'special' excise duty categories has effectively eliminated states' revenue share from fuel taxation. Critics have long argued that this structure allows the Centre to retain a disproportionate share of fuel tax revenues without sharing them with states through the divisible pool — a charge the government has previously contested.

He contended that the government had the option to pass on the benefit of lower international crude prices to consumers at various points over the past several years but chose not to, instead relying on what he described as 'rhetoric and messaging.'

The Trigger: Friday's Price Hike

Petroleum companies on Friday announced a steep revision in fuel prices, citing rising international crude oil prices and ongoing tensions in the Middle East as the primary drivers. The revision has drawn sharp reactions from opposition leaders across the country, with Gehlot's remarks among the most direct.

Anti-Poor Economic Policy, Gehlot Argues

The former Chief Minister accused the Centre's economic policies of being anti-poor and anti-middle class, arguing that the burden of fuel price increases falls primarily on ordinary citizens — salaried workers, small traders, and daily-wage earners — rather than on large industrialists who can absorb or offset such costs. This comes amid broader concerns about household budgets already stretched by food inflation.

As political pressure mounts over the fuel price revision, the Centre is yet to formally respond to the opposition's allegations on the excise duty structure and the pass-through of crude price benefits.