Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge likens repeated fuel hikes to ‘slow poisoning’

With compressed natural gas (CNG) prices hiked again on Tuesday (May 26, 2026), Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Narendra Modi government of subjecting people to “slow poisoning” through repeated increases in fuel prices. The people had realised the government was “incapable” of solving any issue, Mr. Kharge said.

Speaking to reporters outside his official residence, Mr. Kharge said rising fuel prices, inflation, and unemployment had fuelled widespread anger against the Centre, but the government was indifferent to the hardships faced by the poor.

“This is Modi-ji’s tactic... a kind of slow poisoning to kill poor people. They always keep increasing prices little by little, but when prices go up by ₹10-12 within just a week, it shows that Modi-ji does not want to pay attention to these issues and is instead pushing the country toward ruin,” Mr. Kharge said.

“At the same time, he keeps saying that he is doing everything for the nation, making sacrifices, and working for the people. But people here are suffering. If inflation keeps rising like this, unemployment continues to increase, factories shut down, and MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and small-scale industries are forced to close, then what will happen?” the Congress leader said.

In a post on social media platform X, Mr. Kharge said, citing official data, crude oil prices and the rupee-dollar exchange rate had changed significantly since 2014, yet petrol and diesel prices had continued to rise.