Can't ask for decade-old fuel prices, people will have to accept inflation, says BJP MP minister

Madhya Pradesh Minister Mahendra Singh Sisodia sparked a scandal when he said that because people's incomes had improved, they must accept rising commodity prices.

In another surprising comment from Bharatiya Janata Party, a Madhya Pradesh minister stated that people must accept inflation and not demand decade-old fuel rates. Madhya Pradesh Minister Mahendra Singh Sisodia sparked a scandal when he said that because people's incomes had improved, they must accept rising commodity prices. When queried about the state's growing gasoline costs, the MP minister stated, "Isn't the average person's salary increasing? The government cannot provide everything for free. Fuel accounts for the majority of the government's revenue. Oil income is used to pay all of these projects."

He went on to say that individuals should understand that as their income rises, they must equally accept inflation. They can't claim they earned Rs 6,000 ten years ago and are now making Rs 50,000 but still demand fuel and diesel at the same rates as ten years ago. It is not at all conceivable, he added.

Meanwhile, petrol and diesel prices rose for the sixth day in a row. Petrol rates in Delhi reached Rs 109.34 per litre, while diesel costs Rs 98.07 per litre. Today, the retail price of petrol in Mumbai, India's financial Centre, is Rs 115.51 per litre, while diesel costs Rs 106.23 per litre.

Amid a sharp increase in petrol and diesel prices across the country, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who previously served as Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, stated that the Centre is concerned about the issue of inflation and assured that the government would control it in due course. According to Pradhan, India imports 80% of its petroleum products, causing prices to rise. He also stated that the petroleum ministry will communicate with OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Nations) countries and that the situation will improve following the meetings.