HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday demanded that the Union government immediately roll back the hike in petrol and diesel prices, calling the decision “unjustifiable”.
In a post on X, Revanth said the increase would adversely affect several sectors and further raise the prices of essential commodities, placing an additional burden on common people.
Criticising the Narendra Modi-led government’s economic policies, he said the country’s economy had weakened due to “inefficient governance and ill-conceived policies”. He alleged that “Atmanirbhar Bharat” had remained only a slogan for votes rather than a policy that delivered results.
Revanth said small and medium-scale industries had suffered badly, youth were facing unemployment, and the promise of doubling farmers’ incomes remained unfulfilled. He also claimed the rupee had steadily weakened over the past decade.
“Using the Iran-Israel war as an excuse to hike petrol and diesel prices is nothing but breaking the backbone of common citizens,” he said, questioning how the Modi government could justify the decision while claiming India had become the world’s third-largest economy.
The chief minister further alleged that ahead of the recent elections in four states and one Union Territory, the BJP-led Union government had assured people that fuel prices would not be increased. However, within days of the results, prices were raised by more than `3 per litre, which he termed a betrayal of public trust.