‘Khata Khat…’: Union Minister Hardeep Puri Slams Karnataka Govt Over Fuel Price Hike

Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, has slammed the Karnataka government for increasing petrol and diesel prices by ₹3 in the state.

In a post on social media, Puri compared fuel prices in Karnataka to those in other BJP-ruled states, highlighting that prices are lower in those states. "Khata-Khat badh gayi mehengai!" he exclaimed, which translates to "Inflation has increased drastically!"

The price hike has been met with opposition from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has announced protests across Karnataka on June 17.

Earlier today, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah defended the decision, stating that the state's taxes on fuel remain lower than most south Indian states and similar economy-sized states like Maharashtra.

Karnataka Petrol Diesel Price Hike | Transcript Of Union Minister’s Post

“Khata-Khat badh gayi mehengai! 

After not fulfilling the promises of transferring Rs 8500/month to a woman of each family, Congress ruled Karnataka government has saddled the people of Karnataka with the burden of paying Rs 3/litre more for petrol and diesel in the state. 

After this decision, people of Karnataka would be forced to pay higher amounts for food items, clothing, medicines and all items of basic necessities as fuel prices directly impact prices of all goods. Such a decision just after elections have been concluded, exposes the hypocrisy of the Congress which talks about mehengai but levies approximately Rs 8litre-Rs 12/litre additional VAT in comparison with BJP ruled states. 

With this hike, petrol in Karnataka is now Rs 8.21/litre more expensive than both BJP-run governments in UP and Gujarat.

The price gap is even more staggering if Karnataka is compared with BJP-governed Arunachal Pradesh where the party has come back to power strongly. The petrol prices in Karnataka are over Rs 12/litre higher than in Arunachal. The price gap for diesel is Rs 8.59/litre between the two states with Arunachal being much less expensive.

During the last three years of global energy turmoil, the NDA government led by PM @narendramodi Ji deftly diversified India’s crude oil purchases to ensure that petrol prices actually decreased by about 14% and diesel prices fell by nearly 11% during November 2021 -May 2024 period.

During the same period, US saw petrol prices soar 29%, while neighbours Pakistan and Sri Lanka faced severe financial stress due to spike in global crude prices.

Additionally, to maintain availability and affordability of transport fuels, Modi government made substantial and timely cut in excise duty in November 2021 and followed it up with another cut in May 2022.  The Central govt reduced petrol and diesel prices by ₹5 per litre and ₹10 per litre, respectively, in November 2021. Following up in May 2022, petrol and diesel prices were further cut by ₹8 per litre and ₹6 per litre, respectively. Again on March 14 this year, the OMCs played a vital role in reducing prices further by Rs 2/litre.

The BJP-run state governments aligned with the pro-people policies and reduced sales tax on transport fuels to further cut rates for the public and rein in inflationary pressures.

For instance, petrol prices in Congress-ruled Telangana is Rs 12.76/litre higher than in UP. The difference in diesels prices between these two states is also significant at Rs 7.89/litre.

Similarly, the petrol prices are Rs 9.29/ litre higher in Trinamool Congress-run West Bengal compared with BJP-run Gujarat.

PM Modi Ji’s visionary leadership ensured that while the world was facing fuel price surge due to a war in Europe, India remained the only country during that period where petrol and diesel prices went down”