New Delhi, Jul 14 (IANS): Congress has attacked the BJP-led government at the Centre over the slow speed of vaccination and fuel hike in the country, as prices of petroleum products are soaring all-time high.

Congress spokesperson, Jaiveer Shergill in a statement said, "Sixty per cent drop in vaccination rate & 63 times hike in fuel prices - BJP clearly is leaving no stone unturned to rub salt on wounds of people who are victims of the BJP's 'bleed the janta by thousand cuts' policy!!"

The Congress is protesting countrywide over the rising fuel prices and inflation and has squarely blamed the union government for failures to control the price rise.

Former union minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday attacked the Narendra Modi government over inflation and rising fuel prices and demanded immediate relief by reducing taxes on petroleum products and import duty on various items.

Chidambaram said, "Inflation, even in a normal time, would be intolerable. The present is not a normal time. A pandemic is raging across the country. The pandemic has resulted in jobs being axed, unemployment rising to 8.1 per cent and incomes/wages being cut for millions of working people. In such a situation of widespread distress, inflation has broken the back of the people, and we hold the Central government under Shri Narendra Modi directly responsible for the high inflation."

"Let me caution the government, the issue of high inflation will not go away if you pretend it does not exist."

"The NDA government has continued to pretend that the concern about price rise is a false concern and, if the government ignores the issue, the issue will go away. The Congress party condemns the callous negligence of the government on the issue of price rise," he said.