The Congress on Monday attacked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government over the recent fuel price hikes, accusing it of burdening ordinary families despite record profits by public sector oil marketing companies, while the BJP hit back, accusing the Opposition of politicising a global energy crisis and attempting to spread negativity.Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi alleged that the “mehangai manav” had struck again and he had just one job of making promises during elections and attacking people’s pockets at other times. He said the government was increasing fuel prices in phases so that the impact was felt “quietly” by the public. He alleged that the Centre raised prices immediately after elections and warned that further hikes could follow.Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said every fuel price increase had a cascading effect on the economy and was affecting farmers, small industries and middle-class families alike.“The daily assault of fuel loot is not over yet,” Kharge wrote on X, alleging that the BJP government had collected nearly Rs 43 lakh crore through fuel pricing and taxes over the past 12 years.Kharge claimed that during the UPA government between 2004 and 2014, international crude oil prices had risen sharply, but consumers were protected from the full impact. In contrast, he said, fuel prices had continued to rise under the Modi government despite crude oil prices not witnessing a similar spike.According to Kharge, petrol prices increased from Rs 71.41 per litre in 2014 to Rs 102.12 per litre in 2026, while diesel prices rose from Rs 56.71 to Rs 95.20 per litre during the same period.Congress MP Manish Tewari questioned the rationale behind repeated fuel price hikes despite strong earnings by state-run oil marketing companies.Citing financial figures, Tewari said the IOC, BPCL and HPCL together posted profits of Rs 77,280.65 crore in FY 2025-26, recording a 130 per cent jump over the previous financial year. He further claimed that even during the January-March quarter, when geopolitical tensions involving Iran, Israel and the US had pushed crude prices higher globally, the three companies collectively posted profits of Rs 19,470 crore.Responding to the Congress attack, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia accused Rahul of adopting “toolkit politics” in maligning the image of the country. “If your motive is to spread anarchy, we are also determined to make India stronger,” Bhatia countered Rahul at a press conference at the BJP headquarters.Describing Rahul as “foolish, immature and anarchic”, Bhatia said petrol and diesel prices had surged sharply worldwide, but India’s increases remained modest in comparison with countries such as the US, UK, China and Gulf nations.Bhatia claimed that petrol prices had risen by 58 per cent in Malaysia, 46 per cent in the US, 34 per cent in Canada, 25 per cent in China and 20 per cent in the UK, while in India they had increased by only 5.5 per cent so far.