New Delhi, Sept 16: Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ramdas Athawale, issued a veiled attack on the central government, claiming that he would had been suffering due to the surging petrol, diesel prices had he not been a minister.

"I’m not suffering from rising fuel prices as I am a minister. I may suffer if I lose my ministerial post. It's understandable that people are suffering from rising fuel prices and it’s the duty of the government to reduce them," Athawale said. Petrol Prices Hiked by 28 Paise in Mumbai, Delhi; Diesel up by 19 Paise: Check Fuel Rates For Today.

Watch Athawale's reply on being asked on fuel price hike:

Petrol and diesel prices have been incremented on near-daily basis for over a month in India, bringing them to the record-high levels. Per litre of petrol stands at Rs 89.29 in Mumbai and Rs 81.91 in Delhi. Diesel, meanwhile, is being sold at Rs 78.26 and Rs 73.51 in Mumbai and Delhi, respectively.

The Centre has attributed the rise in prices to global factors, mainly the resurrection of international crude oil rates and the weakening of Indian rupee against a dominating US dollar.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 16, 2018 12:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).