With fuel prices being hiked daily, including a 35 paise rise in petrol cost on Monday, Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan asked the Centre not to “torture” citizens in this manner.

“Benefit of decrease in global crude prices is being denied to consumers here due to continued increase in additional excise duty on petroleum by the Centre,” he said on a Malayalam news channel. The Centre should stop torturing people like this.”