The Congress on Sunday appealed for the support of city denizens towards party’s Bharat Bandh call on September 10 over the issue of rising fuel prices in the country.
Former Union Minister and ex-city MP Pawan Kumar Bansal said that imposition of heavy taxes on petrol and diesel by the Central Government has led to skyrocketing prices of petrol, diesel and LPG.
Bansal said, "The real GDP which is growing is - gas, diesel and petrol." Heavy taxation on petrol and diesel, in the last 52 months by the BJP led Central Government has made profits of more than Rs 11 lakh crore. Petrol-Diesel prices are the highest in history and common people, middle class, farmers, transporters, small and medium businesses are forced to suffer under the burden of inflation.”
In May 16, 2014, the crude oil price was $ 107.09 per barrels in the national market, while today crude oil is $ 73 per barrels, almost 40 percent less than the Congress-UPA government's time. Yet, under the Central Government, the prices of petrol and diesel are highest in the history, Bansal added.
After BJP came to power, central excise duty has been increased 12 times, Bansal said while adding that prices of petrol and diesel in India are Rs 78-Rs 86 (Delhi and Mumbai) and Rs 70-Rs 75 (Delhi and Mumbai) respectively.
In an answer to RTI, it is clear that the BJP Government has been selling petrol only for Rs 34 per liter to 15 other countries and only Rs 37 per diesel to 29 countries. The Central Government has cheated and backstabbed the people of the country, he added.
Bansal further said that since July 2017, the Congress Party has been repeatedly telling the Central Government to bring gasoline and diesel under GST so that the people are benefited.
Congress state president Pradeep Chhabra said that the rising prices of the items of daily necessities have badly damaged the budget of all Indians. The people of the country will never forgive the Central Government for the robbery of fuel and in the forthcoming elections, BJP will get a befitting reply.”
Instead of extending the benefits of low prices of crude oil to the common man, the BJP Government is ruthlessly taxing on oil. The excise duty of petrol after May 2014 is increased by 211.7 percent while the excise duty on diesel from May 2014 has been increased by 443.06 percent, he added.