Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday criticised the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for raising the fuel prices for the second time in four days on Tuesday. Kharge also accused the Centre of burdening ordinary citizens.Kharge also accused the Centre of burdening ordinary citizens. (@kharge)“Just four days after the price hike, the Modi government has once again increased the prices of petrol and diesel,” Kharge said in a post on X, adding that having “set the full stage, preaching about savings,” the government was “shifting the burden of their failures onto the public.”State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum (BP), and Hindustan Petroleum (HP) raised petrol and diesel prices by 90 paise per litre on Tuesday, taking rates in Delhi to ₹98.64 per litre for petrol and ₹91.58 per litre for diesel. The revision followed a steeper ₹3-per-litre hike on May 15, ending a 49-month freeze on fuel prices.Also Read:Ludhiana: Hike in petrol, diesel prices ignites fear of household budget crunchThe first increase came exactly 16 days after assembly elections concluded in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, with prices held steady through the entire polling period despite a sharp surge in international crude rates triggered by the West Asia conflict.Kharge also alleged that the PM Modi-led government collected ₹43 lakh crore in central taxes from fuel over ten years while passing no relief to consumers when international crude prices were low.“You don’t become a ‘Vishwa Guru’ just by doing sponsored PR abroad. The public has no interest in how you eat your mangoes or which tonic you drink,” he added.A reaction from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is awaited and the copy will be updated whenever it is received.