Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal on Wednesday asked the Congress national president Rahul Gandhi to direct Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal to take up the issue of bringing petrol and diesel under Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the next meeting of GST Council if he was really serious about ensuring relief to the common man.
“Congress president should practice what he preached. It is very easy to tweet that petrol prices are burdening the common man and question the Central Government for not bringing fuel under GST but difficult to follow up one’s own advice as seems the case with Rahul Gandhi,” said Sukhbir.
He said that the Congress president should tell Punjabis why he has not asked his own party government in Punjab to take steps to bring petrol and diesel under GST.
Sukhbir said that the Congress president has not even deigned it fit to ask his party government in Punjab to reduce state tax on petrol and diesel in order to give immediate relief to the common man. “Petrol and diesel prices in Punjab are the highest in north India and the third highest in the country. Congress government can slash these prices by up to Rs 20 per liter in one stroke but has not reduced them by even one paisa,” he added.
Stating that one should not indulge in gimmickry in politics, he said that the level of political double speak on the issue of petrol and diesel prices in Punjab could be judged from the fact that the Pradesh Congress was holding protests to demand reduction in central excise on both products even as Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal had refused to reduce the huge State tax on fuel.