Rajasthan minister Rajkumar Rinwa blames citizens for soaring fuel prices, says they should reduce consumption

As the country reels under record-breaking fuel prices, Rajasthan minister Rajkumar Rinwa has laid the blame for the crisis on — surprise, surprise — the citizens themselves. “People do not understand the fact that when prices of crude oil increase, they should reduce their expenditure. In other countries, there is a national character, and people cut down their consumption,” he said.

#BREAKING -- Rajasthan Minister Rajkumar Rinwa has hit out at the public over rising prices, he says that the public should reduce consumption to fight inflation and also stated that the Indian public has no national character like other nations. pic.twitter.com/sCsghakBpV

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“The government is making efforts to reduce the fuel prices by reducing tax. Expenditure is being made in thousands of crores on flood relief all around (the country) for which money is required,” he told reporters. Fuel prices are regulated by the world market and the government has nothing to do with it, the minister of state for the devasthan department said. Rinwa’s remarks met with condemnation from the Opposition Congress in Rajasthan. Congress state chief Sachin Pilot said: “Such remarks from the BJP leadership show that they are very arrogant and are insensitive to the needs of people. When people are suffering, they are making things worse by such outlandish statements.” Since mid August, petrol prices have been marked up by Rs 3.24 a litre and diesel by Rs 3.74 per litre, as the rupee hit record lows against the US dollar, making petroleum imports costlier. In protest against these skyrocketing fuel prices, the Congress called for a Bharat Bandh on Monday, and its protest has the support of at least “20 political parties”, according to Congress leader Ajay Maken. Click here to follow LIVE updates on the Bharat Bandh. With inputs from agencies