Petrol Diesel Rates: Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state.
new Delhi:
As fuel prices were hiked today for the ninth time in the last 10 days, the opposition Congress took to the streets to protest the move. Leading the charge, party MPs from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha staged a protest at Vijay Chowk near Parliament in Delhi, launching a nationwide agitation against the steep hike in the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas. The oldest party has been demanding a rollback, accusing the government of “stealing money from the poor” and handing it over to industrialists.
Senior party leader Rahul Gandhi said, “Our demand is that the government should control the prices and stop increasing the prices of petrol and diesel.”
“We can see that the prices of petrol and diesel are rising rapidly. The government is earning thousands of crores from it. Congress is protesting across the country against this price hike of petrol and diesel. The government has to stop doing this. . It has to be ensured. That the prices will not go up,” he said.
Keeping an overturned motorcycle and LPG cylinders at the protest site, the Congress mocked the PM. At the behest of the central leadership, the party’s Karnataka unit took to the streets with gas cylinders decorated as deities, and a priest worshiped them. Party workers were also seen banging utensils, a swipe at PM Modi’s suggestion to lift the spirits of health workers during the pandemic.
Mr Gandhi also quipped that he had predicted that this would happen. Taking a jibe at the BJP, the Congress leader had earlier this month said that people should fill their vehicle tanks before the polls are over as the Modi government will hike prices as soon as it ends.
Those present at the protest included Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
The BJP-led government has been widely criticized for using fuel prices for vote bank politics. The Center did not hike fuel prices for four-and-a-half months ahead of assembly elections in five states, even when international crude oil prices were on the rise. This is probably what caused this sudden unprecedented increase.
However, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the rise in international crude oil prices can be attributed to the war in Ukraine, over which the Indian government has no control.
Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 80 paise per liter today, taking the overall increase in fuel rates to Rs 6.40 per liter in the last 10 days.
Not just the Congress, several opposition parties such as the Trinamool Congress and the DMK have also opposed the hike, pointing out that it will snowball into rising prices of essential commodities and fuel inflation. Opposition parties have also protested in Parliament over the issue and demanded a debate on the floor of the House. MPs from Congress, Trinamool, NCP, DMK and Left parties on March 22 walked out of the Lok Sabha After being disallowed by Speaker Om Birla when he tried to raise the issue in the lower house as soon as it was for question hour.
Non-BJP states attacked the Center for not reducing central excise duty on fuel, saying they have already reduced Value Added Tax (VAT) and it would not be viable to do so. To counter the huge increase in international crude oil prices, the Center has collected record through excise duty two years back. However, the hike was never reversed despite a subsequent fall in crude oil prices. The Center made record profits, claiming to have spent on infrastructure, development and COVID relief.
While the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is applicable to most products since its implementation in 2017, oil products and natural gas have been kept out of its purview. Excise duty, which accrues to the Center, and VAT, which goes to the state government, are levied on their sales.
Petrol price in Delhi will now be Rs 101.81 per liter as against 101.01 per liter yesterday, while diesel rates have increased from 92.27 per liter to 93.07 per liter today, a price notification from state fuel retailers showed.
Petrol and diesel prices in Mumbai rose by 84 paise to Rs 116.72 and Rs 100.94 per liter respectively.
Petrol price in Chennai today stands at Rs 107.45 after an increase of 76 paise per liter while the price of diesel has gone up to Rs 97.52 per liter after an increase of 76 paise per liter.
The price of petrol in Kolkata is Rs 111.35 per liter (increase of 83 paise) and that of diesel at Rs 96.22 per liter (increase of 80 paise).