Taking a dig at the cess imposed on petrol and diesel by the Centre, Madhya Pradesh Food Minister Pradyumn Singh Tomar alleged those who came to power on the name of lord Ram have burdened devotees with cess.
The Minister however parried the queries when asked about the price hike imposed on fuel by his own Government.
When asked to comment on the additional taxes levied by the Centre on petrol and diesel in Union budget on Friday, Tomar told media persons, “Unki Sarkar sri Ram ke naam par satta me aayi thi to unko ram bhakton ka khyal rakhna tha par unhone mahngayi laad di, (Their Government had come to power on the name of Sri Ram but instead of taking care of their poor devotees, they are burdening them with additional taxes).”
The Minister claimed that if a farmer’s son or daughter goes to school in bus or any other vehicle, the fare of the vehicle is bound to increase after the fuel price hike.
However when reminded by the media that his own Government followed suit by imposition of cess on petrol and diesel, the minister avoided a direct reply on the same.
The minister was speaking to the media on State Government experiment under which food grain portability has been implemented in 18 districts of Madhya Pradesh. “If a person eligible for ration from fair price shop moves away from his home town for work, he could still take his ration at the city where he lives through Aadhar identification,” said the Minister.
Meanwhile Chief Minister Kamal Nath too has blamed Centre for hike in fuel prices. “My Government was forced to hike petrol-diesel prices as the Centre has cut down the fund allocation to Madhya Pradesh,” Nath said. He accused Centre of step-motherly treatment towards Madhya Pradesh on funds allocation claiming this would lead to inflation in the state.
Notably, after the Centre had imposed Re 1 each cess on petrol and diesel to fund welfare measures in state budget, the Kamal Nath government has followed suit by imposing cess of Rs 2 each on petrol and diesel.