Castigating the BJP-led NDA Government for another dose of increase in the petrol and diesel prices, Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam on Monday
reiterated that the twin fuels be brought under the purview of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
On a day when the prices petrol and diesel crossing Rs 81 and Rs 68 per litre respectively in the metropolis, Nirupam said, “As the people battle to survive these high fuel prices, the BJP government in the State and at the Centre have no back-up plan to address the issue, they are ‘anti-people’ and only concerned about the rich”.
Nirupam said that the tax component in the petrol-diesel prices was extremely high and either the taxes had to be slashed or the fuels should be brought under the GST ambit immediately to bring down the prices, and provide relief to the masses.
“In 2015-2016 and 2016-2017, the growth in government revenues from petroleum produces was a whopping 25 percent, which is much higher than the 09-10 per cent notched in the two previous financial years.
The BJP Government is milking the common masses by denying them the full benefits of the lower international crude oil prices that prevailed earlier,” Nirupam said.
According to Nirupam, the worst is the spiralling impact the high prices of the two critical fuels on all other sectors of the economy, transportation, prices of foods and commodities, with the entire supply chain slated for an increase in rates and the spectre of steep hike in food prices soon looming before the people.