Shimla, May 23 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi on Saturday accused the Centre of bringing the country to the "brink of bankruptcy" with failed economic and foreign policies. He said the situation is so bad and there is no sign of any turnaround.

The prices of petrol and diesel have been hiked thrice during the past ten days and the price of petrol, which has crossed Rs 100 per litre, would further go up to Rs 150 per litre in the coming days, he told media persons here.

The proverb "You can fool some people for sometime but you cannot fool all the people every time," applies aptly to the Centre, he said.

When asked whether the country was heading towards "financial emergency", Negi said that "undeclared emergency" is already there and whosoever dares to speak against the government is haunted by misusing the ED and CBI.

The prime minister's appeal to conserve diesel and petrol and not purchase gold are indications that "undeclared financial emergency" is already in place.

The youth is frustrated, there are no jobs, no policy for the youth and public sector undertakings are being privatised. The phenomenal rise of the 'Cockroach Janta Party' is the manifestation of anger and discontent among the youth.

"The hike in prices of diesel and petrol would adversely hit tourism in Himachal and also the apple growers as the cost of transportation would go up. There is still time to salvage the situation if the government gets out of the clutches of Adani, Ambani and Trump and revert to policies of former prime minister Manmohan Singh," he added.

The tourism season is underway and the surge in petrol and diesel prices has adversely affected the livelihoods of taxi drivers, and with some petrol pumps experiencing fuel shortages, the taxi drivers are growing anxious.

Kavindra Thakur, a taxi driver in Kullu, said how a taxi driver is expected to complete a trip to Chandigarh or Delhi, given the hike in fuel prices and rationing of petrol and diesel.

"We will be forced to increase the taxi fares if the fuel prices continue to increase," said another taxi driver Prem Chand. PTI BPL -- MNK MNK

Fuel price hikes and an undeclared financial emergency dominate criticism of the Centre's economic policies. Economic policy criticism centred on repeated petrol and diesel price hikes, alleged fuel shortages, and their impact on tourism, taxi drivers, and apple growers. The minister accused the Centre of failed economic and foreign policies, said the country was nearing financial , and described the situation as an undeclared financial emergency linked to joblessness, privatisation, and pressure on dissent.