Hyderabad: In an open letter to the Central Government’s decision to hike petrol, diesel, and LPG prices, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao (KTR), on Wednesday, demanded that the prices be rolled back.
In his address to the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, KTR slammed the Centre’s policies, asserting that India has become one of the most expensive nations globally for fuel, outstripping its neighbours, Bhutan, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
“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 stated that the Union government’s use of unshareable cesses is choking Indian states financially. He alleged that the Modi government is engaged in “severe economic exploitation” and ignores states like Telangana their rightful share of revenue.
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“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 stated in his letter.
KTR’s other demands included 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 centralization toward true cooperative federalism.
KTR highlighted that hiking the price of cooking gas will only burden the poor and the middle class. “The LPG price hike isn’t just a statistic, it disrupts every facet of life. Oil companies are poised to pocket thousands of crores while the poor choose between gas and groceries,” he said. He urged the Centre to honor the trust of millions, stop hiding behind slogans, and deliver tangible results.
