JAMMU: Reacting over hike in petrol prices which on Sunday hit a four-year high of Rs 73.73 a litre while diesel rates touched an all-time high of Rs 64.58, former Minister and senior Congress leader, Raman Bhalla on Monday asked government to cut excise tax rates. It is an irony that when the price of crude oil is going down every day then how the prices of petroleum products are increasing in India? He questioned.
Speaking at the meeting held here, Bhalla said “It is a fact that the price of crude oil has declined about 85 per cent since last year. But instead of passing this benefit to the general public, the Modi government has increased the excise duty to the tune of 125 per cent. This excise duty hike and the decision of the government to allow the oil companies to raise the prices of petrol and diesel everyday causes steep hike in all the essential commodities as the fuel price hike has cascading effects.”
“When Modi came into power in 2014, the crude oil price were hovering around $100 per barrel and the then domestic price of petrol was around Rs 65 per litre. Now the global crude prices are less than $50 per barrel. But the domestic price of petrol has reached Rs.75 per litre and that of diesel around Rs.65 per litre. In Asia, India has the highest rate of petrol and diesel prices. During these three year period of Modi, the excise duty on petrol has been raised to Rs 22 and to Rs 17.4 for a litre diesel,” Bhalla mentioned.
“It is ridiculous that BJP Union Ministers openly justify the hike saying that the increased revenue from higher taxes and duties on petrol and diesel was only going into welfare activities for the poor including roads, toilets, housing etc. The statement that those who can afford to own car and bikes can also afford to pay higher prices for fuel is highly unfortunate. These statements are nothing but open challenges to the common sense of the people,” Bhalla maintained.
“Not only the petrol and diesel, the government is also robbing crores of LPG consumers in the country by increasing the prices of even the subsidized LPG cylinder in the past three years, combined with double digit growth in kerosene prices,” Bhalla regretted. The meeting was organised by Harinderpal Singh. Others who were present in the meeting include Seerat Gupta, Romesh Gupta, K.C Gupta, Dedhar Singh, Dalip Singh, Deepak Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Bahu Ram Sharma and O.P Sharma.