The Congress on Wednesday slammed the Centre for increasing the prices on petrol and diesel. Terming the rise in fuel prices as unfair, the party demanded that the Government immediately roll back the increased prices.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi said that at a time when the fight against coronavirus is causing economic hardships to all, the Government has chosen to increase fuel prices instead of reducing them.
"The ongoing battle with the coronavirus is causing severe economic hardship for our crores of brothers and sisters. At this time, instead of reducing prices, the decision of the government to raise prices of petrol and diesel by ₹ 10-13 per litre is unfair and should be withdrawn,” Rahul tweeted after the Centre hiked excise duty and cess on petrol by ₹ 10 per litre and on diesel by Rs 13 a litre. This was the second hike in excise duty in less than two months.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also unsparing in her attack against the Government over its decision to hike excise duty on petrol and diesel. In a series of tweets, Priyanka said that the government was busy filling its coffers at a time when the benefit of low crude oil prices should have been transferred to the consumers.
“The people should benefit from the low crude oil prices. But the BJP Government repeatedly hikes excise duty so that the benefit that should have gone to the consumers is instead used to fill its own suitcase. Who is the government collecting this money for? The labourers, farmers, middle-class, industry, nobody is benefiting from the fall in crude oil price,” Priyanka said.
Senior Congress leader and former Finance minister P Chidambaram too voiced concern and suggested the Centre must borrow to meet deficits and not impose higher tax burdens when economic activity has ground to a halt amid the coronavirus.
“New or higher taxes are justified only when the economy is booming. Tax burdens on the middle class and poor is actually taxing distress. Governments should give money to the people in times of distress, not squeeze and take money from the people,” Chidambaram tweeted.
Congress chief spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala at AICC Press video conference said the entire nation and its 130 crore people are fighting the Corona pandemic and the poor migrant labourers and workers, the shopkeepers, the farmers, the small and medium businesses are virtually penny less, they are struggling for every single Rupee, yet, this draconian Government is fleecing 130 crore Indians by raising insurmountable taxes on petrol and diesel.
Congress alleged that between the years 2014-15 up till the year 2019-20 that is in a period of six years, the Modi government has increased taxes on petrol and diesel 12 times and has collected ₹ 17 lakh crore.