Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Tuesday attacked the BJP government over the rise in petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices, and termed the rationale of raising funds through this for public welfare ''totally unfair''.

''It is totally wrong and unfair to trouble people, who are already facing problems because of the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment and inflation, by continuously and unnecessarily increasing the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG. The rationale of the government to raise funds for public welfare through this tax increase is not fair,'' she said in a tweet in Hindi.

In another tweet, Mayawati said, ''It is essential to immediately stop this burden on the public pocket by constantly and arbitrarily increasing the tax on petrol, diesel etc. In fact, that will be a huge welfare and favour by the government to the crores of poor, hardworking people and the middle classes of the country.''

The BSP president’s remarks came in the wake of the price of petrol touching an all-time high of Rs 97 per litre in Mumbai on Saturday, as the diesel rate crossed the Rs 88-mark. It was the 12th straight day of price hikes and the largest daily increase since oil companies started to revise rates on a daily basis in 2017. The increase pushed the petrol price to Rs 90.58 a litre in Delhi.

Petrol price has already surged past the Rs 100-mark in some places in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, which levy the highest VAT on the fuel.

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Mayawati tweeted, "Era of killing of politicians and lawyers started before..."