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

KTR, as the BRS leader is popularly known, accused the Modi government of plunging the lives of Indian citizens into chaos with its unrelenting fuel price increases.

In a letter addressed to Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, he slammed the Centre's policies, asserting that India has become one of the most expensive nations globally for fuel, outstripping even Bhutan, Pakistan, and economically crippled Sri Lanka.

Pointing out the paradox of rising domestic fuel prices despite a significant decline in international crude oil rates, he accused the Centre of exploiting citizens through excessive taxation. "Even as global crude prices drop, the Central government continues to jack up fuel costs. Is this the 'Achche Din' they promised?" he questioned.

He expressed outrage over the Centre's use of unshareable cesses, which he claimed are choking states financially while filling the Union's coffers, calling it a betrayal of cooperative federalism.

The BRS leader alleged that the PM Narendra Modi government is engaging in "severe economic exploitation" by hiking fuel rates through cesses, denying states like Telangana their rightful share of revenue. 'While states contributing significantly to India's economy struggle with fund shortages, the Centre uses illegally collected cess revenues to dominate them instead of providing infrastructure," KTR claimed. He further criticised the government's slogan of "Minimum Government, Maximum Governance", stating it has morphed into "Maximum Taxation, Minimum Relief".

In his letter, KTR highlighted the crippling burden of LPG prices, which have soared past Rs 1,100 per cylinder, rendering them unaffordable for poor and middle-class women. He termed the much-touted Ujjwala Yojana a 'cruel joke", noting that beneficiaries who once received cylinders with fanfare are now forced back to cooking with firewood due to escalating costs. "The LPG price hike isn't just a statistic - it disrupts every facet of life,' he said, adding that oil companies are poised to pocket thousands of crores while the poor choose between gas and groceries.

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

"Ministers and BJP leaders once hit the streets demanding lower prices. Now, they burden the public while oil companies rake in billions," he said, alleging that the Centre keeps prices stable during elections only to hike them post-polls, deceiving the electorate.

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

/IANS