Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari justified the hikes in fuel prices, thrice in the last four days, saying that the oil prices had gone up within the international market, owing to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which was beyond the Indian government’s control.
“In India, 80 per cent of the oil is imported. Amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the oil prices have spiralled up within international markets and we can’t do anything about that,” Gadkari said at a session titled “New India, New Manifesto-Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas,” at the ABP Network’s inaugural Ídeas of India summit.
The minister said that he has been working on a pitch for making India self-reliant since 2004, which states that “we need to make our own fuel”, while laying stress on the need for developing indigenous energy generation capabilities.
Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 80 paise a litre each on Friday, the third increase in four days, as oil firms recoup losses from holding rates during the period prior to the recently-concluded Assembly elections.
These hikes are the steepest single-day rise since the daily price revision began in June 2017.
Also read: Petrol, diesel prices hiked by 80 paise a litre
With three increases beginning March 22, petrol and diesel prices have gone up by ₹2.40 a litre.
A record 137-day hiatus in rate revision ended on March 22 with an 80 paise per litre increase in rates, and similar hikes have followed in the subsequent days.
The prices had been on a freeze since November 4, ahead of the Assembly elections in five states, a period during which the cost of crude oil soared by $30 per barrel.
“India will soon have a ₹40,000 crore ethanol, methanol and bio-ethanol production economy, reducing our dependence on petroleum imports,” Gadkari said.
Gadkari also said that leading car and two-wheeler manufacturers in India are working on developing products with flex-fuel engines, which will be launched in the upcoming months.
Highlighting the manufacturing capabilities of India in developing battery and green hydrogen technology, Gadkari said, “The prices of IC (internal combustion) engines and electric vehicles will be on par in India in the next two years. We are working on developing green hydrogen production indigenously in the country by harnessing it from sources like sewage water and biomass.”
Gadkari also emphasised that the BJP “does not accept any discrimination based on caste, religion, language or gender”.
“Sometimes, Hindutva is projected in a wrong way. The basic principle of Hindutva is justice for all and appeasement of none,” Gadkari said.
According to Gadkari, nationalism is the primary focus of the BJP’s philosophy.
“The second focus lies in good governance and development while the third most important pillar is Antyodya, under which we try to uplift those who belong to socially and economically backward classes,” Gadkari said.
Stating that the Supreme Court has rightly described Hindutva as a way of life, Gadkari said that “religion and community are different from each other”.
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“So sometimes, Hindutva is interpreted as anti-Christian and anti-Muslim. In the last seven years (since the Modi-led NDA government came into power), none of the Central government schemes have been discriminatory against anyone. There was no communal approach in our schemes,” Gadkari said.
On being asked about the lack of strong opposition in the country, Gadkari said, “I want to tell the opposition that in politics, no defeat is ultimate.”
(With inputs from Agencies)