Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday (May 18, 2026) accused the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “hiding” the state of the economy before the Assembly elections as that would have damaged the BJP’s electoral prospects.
Mr. Kharge alleged that the government lacked foresight and had concealed the impact of rising prices until the conclusion of the elections, after which fuel and commodity prices began going up.
His remarks came a day after the government raised compressed natural gas (CNG) prices for the second time in a week. The increase followed Friday’s (May 15, 2026) hike in petrol and diesel prices by ₹3 a litre, attributed to rising global crude oil prices amid the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.
In a post on X in Hindi, Mr. Kharge said the Centre had deliberately delayed price revisions to avoid electoral backlash. “If Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised the prices of petrol, diesel and other commodities before the elections, he would have suffered significant losses,” he said.
“The Modi government kept everything hidden from the country until the elections, but once the elections were over, prices of everything increased,” the Congress president alleged.
Accusing the government of failing to anticipate the inflationary impact, Mr. Kharge said, “The BJP government and Modi lack foresight, that is why it did not foresee this price rise coming.”
The Congress leader said his party would continue to raise the issue of inflation, claiming that escalating prices had made essential goods increasingly unaffordable for ordinary people.
“We will raise this issue because inflation is continuously rising due to the BJP government. The poor in the country are not even able to get the essential goods they deserve,” he said.
ALSO WATCH Watch: CNG prices hiked again in Delhi, up ₹3 in less than a week
Published - May 18, 2026 03:11 pm IST
Indian National Congress / Narendra Modi / national government / politics (general) / national politics / economy, business and finance / prices / diesel fuel / petrol
Source: The Hindu - India News
