SAD on Wednesday stated that the Congress-led Punjab Government’s failure to find time to decide on slashing VAT on petrol and diesel only reflect its casual and anti-poor mind-set. “This despite the fact that the Shiromani Akali Dal has already given an ultimatum and the strong anguish is building against the indecisive and ambivalent government,” said the former minister and party spokesman Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal.
Lashing out against the adamant attitude of Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, who refused to relent on fuel prices, Grewal said that the Government has no choice but to bow to the aspirations of the people and sooner it would be better.
“But Manpreet has meticulously invented his own perverted logic to deny this relief to people which reflects on his anti-people and anti-poor mindset and put out a fallacious logic that slashing prices would affect the state’s revenues,” he said.
Grewal asked if the Union Government could take the bold initiative, what prevents Manpreet to follow suit.
AAP flays steep hike in DAP rates; demands to reduce VAT on diesel
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday flayed the Centre and State Governments accusing them of ruining the Punjab farmers with making steep rise in rates of DAP fertiliser and not lowering prices of diesel.
“It is unfortunate that rates of DAP are hiked before sowing of wheat crop while farming community is reeling under debt and facing an acute financial crisis,” said AAP MLA and the Leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha Harpal Singh Cheema.
He said that MSP of crops was increased marginally whereas the rates of diesel and petrol are hiked many fold. In January 2018, the rate of diesel in Punjab was Rs 58.92 which is now Rs 70.56 per litre, he added.
Pointing that Punjab is the biggest consumer of diesel, Cheema said that hike in diesel rates directly affect the farmers. “Punjab government, led by Capt Amarinder Singh, has burdened farmers by levying highest VAT,” he said.