As petrol prices in India surged over Rs 100, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday blamed his predecessors for the skyrocketing fuel ...

As petrol prices in India surged over Rs 100, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday blamed his predecessors for the skyrocketing fuel prices. He claimed that if the previous governments had focussed on reducing the country’s energy import dependence, the middle class would not have been this burdened today, PTI reported.
“Can a diverse and talented nation like ours be so energy import dependent,” the prime minister asked while addressing an online event to inaugurate oil and gas projects in poll-bound Tamil Nadu. “I do not want to criticise anyone but I want to say, had we focused on this subject much earlier, our middle-class would not be burdened.”
Petrol and diesel prices continued to hit record high levels on Wednesday as oil manufacturing companies hiked fuel prices for the ninth consecutive day. In Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar town, petrol cost Rs 100.13 per litre, while diesel was priced at Rs 92.13 a litre. Prices of petrol with additives had breached the Rs 100-mark for the first time in parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh earlier this week.
Inaugurating important projects relating to Aatmanirbharta in the energy sector. https://t.co/wEW11egO7j
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 17, 2021
Opposition parties, including the Congress, have blamed the Modi government for the exorbitant fuel prices, by raising taxes to...