New Delhi, May 15 -- Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday criticised the Centre over the hike in petrol and diesel prices, alleging that the increase would worsen inflation and adversely impact economic growth amid the ongoing West Asia crisis.

In a post on X, Ramesh said the Congress had repeatedly urged the government to pass on the benefits of lower international crude oil prices to consumers in previous years, but alleged that domestic fuel prices were not reduced at the time.

"For years when international oil prices were soft or declining, the Indian National Congress had been urging that those benefits should be passed on to Indian consumers and that domestic prices of gas, petrol, and diesel should be reduced. That, however, d...