With prices of petrol and diesel climbing steeply, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday agreed that the rates were a problem.
But the BJP leader said that since government expenses are up due to Covid relief measures, “the Centre is saving money to spend on welfare schemes”.
“I accept that fuel prices are pinching consumers, there’s no doubt about this. But over Rs 35,000 crore has been spent on Covid vaccines in a year. Rs 1 lakh crore has been spent on Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Yojana in order to provide eight months’ ration to the poor. A few thousand crores of rupees have also been transferred to farmers’ bank accounts under PM Kisan…In such dire times, we’re saving money to spend on welfare schemes,” Pradhan said, speaking to the media.