New Delhi, 27 March (H.S.):

The Congress party has challenged the central government’s claim that recent cuts in petrol and diesel prices have brought relief to common people, arguing that the actual benefit has not reached consumers.

Party spokesperson Pawan Khera, in a post on the social media platform X, said that while headlines highlight a fall in fuel prices, the real‑world rates at the pump have remained largely unchanged for both dealers and end users.

Khera clarified that the Centre has merely reduced the “special additional excise duty” on petrol and diesel, which is a levy paid by oil marketing companies to the government, rather than a direct reduction in the retail price that consumers pay.

He said this move has not translated into any tangible cost easing for the public, even as the government projects the measure as a cushion during the West Asia conflict‑driven oil‑price spike.

The Congress leader described the tax change as an unnecessary burden that OMCs have been carrying since the escalation in West Asia, and noted that the government has only shifted a small part of this load after a long delay. He accused the government of offering relief only in narrative and not in reality, and urged it to focus on delivering direct, visible relief to consumers instead of crafting headline‑driven stories.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar