The Congress Tuesday said the government was trying to fill the budget deficit by hiking excise duty on fuel instead of passing the benefits of a drop in global crude oil prices to consumers.
The government Dec 2 raised the excise duty on petrol by Rs.2.25 a litre and on diesel by Rs.1 but retail pump rates were not increased as oil firms decided to absorb the increase for now.
Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said: "International prices of crude oil have come down. As per deregulation rules, the benefits have to be passed on to the consumers.
"But by hiking the rates of excise duty, the government is keeping the benefit with itself... This (benefit) has to be given to the consumer," he said.
"If you are using this to fill your budget deficit, then it is not right," he added. "The government should tell us what they are doing to correct this."