As high oil price drills hole in people's pocket, social media goes ablaze

Twitterati ask why Tinseltown celebrities and other bigwigs are not reacting to the fuel price hike as they did during Manmohan Singh's tenure as the prime minister

With high oil prices drilling a hole in their pockets, the Indian common man is fuming. Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram came down heavily on the government on Wednesday morning, tweeting that it was possible to cut petrol and diesel rates by Rs 25 a litre, but the Centre would cheat the public and bring down prices by only Rs 1-2 per litre. 

"Bonanza to central government is Rs 25 on every litre of petrol. This money rightfully belongs to the average consumer. Central government saves Rs 15 on every litre of petrol due to fall in crude oil prices. It also puts additional tax of Rs 10 on every litre of petrol," he added.


 

As reported earlier, the Prime Minister's Office will on Wednesday take a final call on whether to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel.

Meanwhile, BJP President Amit Shah said that the issue will be resolved within three to four days.

Here's what transpired on Twitter related to the rising fuel prices:

1. Former India cricketer and MP Kirti Azad said that petrol is inching towards its 'maiden century'. 



2. Twitterati pounced upon Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar after he deleted an UPA-era tweet that urged the public to clean up their cycles when petrol prices rose. 


3. Some asked why weren't Tinseltown celebrities and other bigwigs reacting to the recent hike in fuel prices like they did during Manmohan Singh's tenure as the prime minister.



 
4. There have been reports saying the Centre had asked Oil Marketing Companies to hold back on raising rates until the Karnataka election got over. Congress President Rahul Gandhi too alleged that the Modi government was fooling people. "Karnataka finishes voting, FUEL prices rise to a 4 yr. high! The Key Principle of Modinomics: fool as many people as you can, as often as you can. "

A Twitter user came up with a feisty meme to buttress the same point using an iconic advertisement.

5. Cartoonists Manjul and Kirish Bhatt shared interesting sketches mocking the hike.



6. However, Ekta Kapoor still has her hopes up. According to the film and television producer, the fuel price hike won't really matter much. Here's what she said:



7. But, that doesn't mean Bollywood isn't intelligent enough as BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimhan might like to suggest. Check out this tweet from Farhan Akhtar:

8. Last, but not the least, Amul came up with the most subtle jibe at the increase in fuel prices:

Source: @Amul_Coop