New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday criticised the central government for failing to lower petrol and diesel prices claiming there has been a significant drop in global crude oil prices.

“Crude oil prices have plunged by 31% over 19 months,” he said and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre of allowing unchecked profiteering.

Taking to X, Kharge wrote on Thursday, “The falling crude oil prices are not translating into relief for the public due to the unchecked profiteering by the Modi government. Ministers themselves admit there have been no discussions with oil companies to reduce prices. Oil companies are earning ₹8 to ₹10 in profit from the public per litre of petrol and ₹3 to ₹4 profit on diesel at the expense of the public.”

He continued, “Public savings are at their lowest in 50 years… The nation is disillusioned, seeking the ‘Acche Din’ promised by the BJP through false promises and empty advertisements.”

In Delhi, petrol is priced at ₹96.72 while diesel stands at ₹89.62. In cities such as Mumbai and Bengaluru, the fuel prices have surpassed the ₹100 mark.

In India, the current global price for crude oil on Thursday stood at ₹6,016 per barrel, experiencing a decline of 1.93%.

HT reached out to the petroleum and natural gas ministry for a comment but there was no response.

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On Wednesday, Union minister of petroleum and natural gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, underscored that international crude oil prices were “highly turbulent” mainly due to geopolitical reasons and that the government’s focus is to ensure the country’s energy security on the principles of availability and affordability.

He said that due to ongoing conflicts in the most convenient shipping routes through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, the transportation of about 8.2 million barrels per day of crude oil has been affected.

“God forbid, if there is a further challenge or there is a disruption, you see the kind of impact it will cause,” Puri added hinting that state-run fuel retailers will continue to hold pump prices of petrol and diesel.

Although the transport fuels are deregulated, the government tacitly controls their pump rates through public sector fuel retailers for both political and economic reasons.

To be sure, India, which imports 87% of the crude oil it processes, saw a 17% fall in the average import cost of crude (the Indian basket) from $93.54 a barrel in September 2023 to $77.42 in December, raising expectations of a fuel price cut.

Despite the drop in global crude oil rates, India’s leading government-owned oil companies – Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) – have recorded significant profits.