Congress demands reduction in excise duty on petrol & diesel amid steep rise in fuel price

Amid the rising fuel prices, Congress on Friday called upon the Union government to reduce the excise duty on petrol and diesel to provide relief to 130 crore citizens. In the backdrop of a steep rise in fuel prices in the last days, Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala pointed claimed that the Centre had increased the price of petrol and diesel per litre by Rs.15.21 and Rs.15.33 respectively after assuming power in May 2019. Accusing the government of looting the people, he mentioned that the prices of petrol and diesel had climbed to Rs.100 and Rs.90 per litre respectively in some parts of the country.

Moreover, he lamented that the Centre was passing the buck to the Congress party after fleecing the people by imposing hefty tax on petrol and diesel. Contending that diesel's price has gone up by 40% since NDA formed the government, Surjewala alleged that the high excise duty had impacted both the poor and the middle-class. Dubbing BJP as 'Bhayankar Janloot Party', he claimed that the NDA government had earned Rs.21.50 lakh crore by repeatedly increasing fuel price since 2014. However, the party's central leadership is yet to convey its stance on Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole's threat to not allow the shooting and screening of the movies of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar as they haven't publicly commented on the fuel price rise. 

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Read: Congress' Kamal Nath Calls For Nationwide Bandh On Feb 20 Over Soaring Fuel Prices

Rising fuel prices

While the opposition has been up in arms over the continuous increase in fuel prices, the Union government has not announced a reduction in excise duty so far. In a startling development, the petrol price in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan has crossed Rs.100 per litre. The rise in India's Crude Oil Basket from an average of 40.7 dollars per barrel in October 2020 to 62.64 dollars per barrel in February 2021 is considered a key factor for the current situation. At the same time, it is also owing to the fact that both the Centre and many states have increased their taxes on petrol and diesel. Deflecting criticism on Tuesday, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari advocated that it was time to switch to "alternative fuel". 

Read: Fuel Price Rises For 11th Consecutive Day, Petrol Crosses Rs 90-mark In Delhi