Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken on Thursday said that the party will mount a signature campaign at petrol pumps across the city to protest against the unprecedented rise in the prices of petrol and diesel. The party has decided to collect 10 lakh signatures and submit it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal,” he said.
Maken said the prices of petrol and diesel have touched the highest level in the history of the country despite a sharp fall in the prices of crude oil in the international market, resulting in extra load on the pockets of the common people.
He further said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal increased the Value Added Tax (VAT) twice by making amendment in the law which resulted in the rise in the prices of petrol and diesel. As a result, the excise plus VAT increase on petrol was 104.42 per cent, while taxes on diesel were pegged at 226.02 per cent. Similarly, the BJP-led Central Government increased the excise duty on petrol and diesel five times, which resulted in the rise in the prices of petrol and diesel.
Maken said the Delhi Congress will also hold a massive protest demonstration at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday, 20th September demanding roll back of the excise and VAT on petrol and diesel. He said this protests will then be taken to the district and block levels.
“It is worth noting that the Congress Government in Delhi never made any amendment in the law to increase the rate of VAT on petrol and diesel. The rise in the prices of petrol and diesel has affected the transport sector leading to a cascading effect on the prices of all essential commodities,” he said.
Releasing a comparative data of the petrol and diesel prices during the Congress-led UPA regime in 2014 and the present BJP-led NDA Government, Maken said excise and VAT per litre of petrol were Rs 36.44 today compared to Rs 17.83 during the Congress regime. Similarly, the taxes on diesel now stand at Rs 25.92 per litre while it was Rs 7.95 when Congress was in power in 2014.