Prices in the international market have fallen. Why is fuel sold at a higher price in the country? Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal directly targeted the Modi government over the allegations.
On Thursday, he demanded immediate reduction of petrol price from Rs 102 to Rs 82 per litre. At the same time, he also talked about reducing the price of diesel. The AAP camp alleged that despite low oil prices in the global market, the oil companies did not provide that benefit to the common man.
“Petrol should be priced at Rs 82 per liter instead of Rs 102. Diesel prices also need to be reduced,” Kejriwal said. He also raised the question why the people of the country will not benefit due to the decrease in the price of oil in the international market.
Since 2014, the price of crude oil in the global market has fallen at least six times, the AAP chief claimed. But fuel prices in India have not come down accordingly. His direct question to the Center was, “Where did the huge profits of the oil companies go during this long time?”
Kejriwal said that lowering the prices of petrol and diesel will significantly reduce inflation in the country. As a result everyone from ordinary middle class families to businessmen will get relief. He framed the Center for emptying the pockets of the common man and allowing oil companies to profit.
However, in the face of Aam Aadmi Party’s attack, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri argued otherwise. Earlier this week, he clarified that despite the lowest international oil prices in the last four months, there is no chance of petrol and diesel getting cheaper in India.
The Union minister claimed that state-owned oil companies were still selling crude oil at the same price at which it was bought during the West Asian crisis.
According to sources, the price of petrol and diesel increased by around Rs 7.50 per liter towards the end of May. This extension came about two months after the start of the West Asian War. However, India’s inflation was much lower than that of the world market, as state-owned oil companies were the major shocks to international market prices.
The Union minister said the state-owned oil companies incurred a total loss of Rs 74,781 crore due to selling petrol, diesel and LPG at low prices.
Govt to reduce petrol price below ₹82 | Important press conference live https://t.co/e9XeNVDgcV
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 9, 2026
The Center claimed that the huge loss was due to oil being sold below purchase price for four consecutive months and cooking gas subsidy arrears since the start of the West Asian crisis on February 28.