Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) President Harshwardhan Sapkal on Thursday squarely blamed the Centre for the ongoing fuel price hike and shortages across the country, alleging that the Modi government's policy failures and electoral preoccupations had pushed ordinary citizens and small businesses into crisis.

Fuel Crisis Blamed on Policy Neglect

Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Sapkal alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had 'criminally neglected' the economy while promoting the Atmanirbharta narrative. 'Due to the absence of any concrete policy, the prices of petrol, diesel, CNG, and LPG gas have increased sharply. Even when it was evident that a fuel shortage was imminent, PM Modi remained busy campaigning for elections in five states, and the people of the country are now paying a heavy price for it,' he said.

Sapkal further claimed that since coming to power in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government has continuously raised fuel prices, benefiting both state-owned and private oil companies. He alleged that the failure to build an oil procurement reserve fund amounted to prioritising corporate interests over public welfare — a charge he described as 'major corruption.'

Impact on Small Businesses and Households

According to Sapkal, the fuel and cooking gas shortage has severely disrupted hotels, restaurants, small businesses, and household kitchens. He argued that the cascading effect on daily economic activity reflects what he called a broader collapse driven by 'flawed policies' of the Modi government. This comes amid wider concerns about cost-of-living pressures affecting urban and semi-urban households across Maharashtra.

Onion Farmers Left Shortchanged, Congress Alleges

Turning to the onion crisis, Sapkal noted that nearly half of Maharashtra's Cabinet had travelled to Delhi to meet Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, but returned without any substantial relief for farmers. He said the government is currently offering procurement at ₹1,500 per quintal, while farmers are demanding ₹3,000 per quintal, along with full procurement of their stock through NAFED.

Sapkal recalled that PM Modi had visited Nashik in 2014 and promised farmers ₹2,400 per quintal if voted to power, with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis making similar assurances at the time. 'Now they are only talking about ₹1,500 per quintal, which amounts to cheating farmers,' he said. He warned that if the government does not meet farmers' demands, Congress will launch fresh protests.

BJP Accused of Communal Agenda

Sapkal also levelled serious allegations against the BJP, claiming the party is deliberately engineering communal tensions to consolidate votes ahead of the 2029 general elections. He alleged that the atmosphere around Bakri Eid was a deliberate attempt to inject Hindu-Muslim divisions into public celebrations. He further claimed that the BJP's stance on the Bakri Eid issue had caused financial losses worth crores of rupees to millions of livestock-rearing farmers — a constituency the party claims to champion.

With the Congress threatening street protests over both the fuel crisis and the onion price standoff, the political temperature in Maharashtra is set to rise in the weeks ahead.