Mamata slams Centre for fuel price hike

Kolkata: With petrol and diesel prices sharply shooting up, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today hit out at the BJP-led central government for doing little to control the surge.

Banerjee said the Centre was only "talking" while the people were suffering due to the surge in fuel prices.

"Diesel/petrol prices are rising and rising and rising. People are suffering. Kitchens are burning. Government is only talking," Banerjee said in a Twitter post.

Petrol prices today hit a four-year high of Rs 73.73 a litre while diesel rates touched an all-time high of Rs 64.58 in the national capital, renewing calls for the government to slash excise duty on oil import.

State-owned oil firms, which have been revising auto fuel prices daily since June last year, raised petrol and diesel rates by 18 paise a litre each in Delhi, according to a price notification.

The Oil Ministry had earlier this year sought a reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel to cushion the impact of rising international oil prices.