Petrol & Diesel prices a dharm-sankat; Centre & states should talk & reduce: Sitharaman

After RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that both the Centre and states should talk with each other over reducing taxes on petrol and diesel whose prices have risen sharply in recent weeks. The Finance Minister said that she won't be able to answer when the prices of petrol and diesel will be reduced.

'It's a dharm-sankat': FM Sitharaman

Asked if the Centre is mulling to reduce cess or other taxes on fuel to give some respite to consumers from high prices of diesel and petrol, she said the question has put her in "dharm-sankat" (dilemma).

"No hiding of the fact that the Centre gets revenue from it. Same is the case with states. I agree that there should be less burden on consumers. For that, both the Centre and states should talk with each other (for reducing central as well as state taxes on fuel)," she said during an interaction with the students of the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A).

Earlier in the day, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said there is a need for coordinated action between the Centre and state governments to reduce taxes on petrol and diesel prices. "There is a need for coordinated action between the Centre and the States because there are inherent taxes levied by both," the Governor said, adding that "calibrated reduction of taxes is important."

He, however, said both the centre and the state governments have their revenue pressures and they are required to spend high sums of money to enable the country and the people to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic stress.

Earlier, in his own remarks on the high fuel prices, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had made yet another pitch for petroleum products to be brought under GST but indicated that the hold-up in this regard was on account of the Finance Ministry and the various states still not being on the same page. Apart from this Pradhan cited crude-side supply and pricing issues, highlighting that India has attempted to pressure OPEC and OPEC+ nations to be more judicious in their approach.

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Unique protests against fuel prices hike

Meanwhile, in a unique style of protest against the fuel price hike, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee commuted to and from the state secretariat Nabanna in Kolkata on an electric scooter.

A Congress spokesperson on the other hand conducted a press conference at the AICC headquarters in Delhi sitting on an empty gas cylinder in protest against the LPG price hike, as the opposition party accused the Modi government of being "anti-people". Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate and party secretary (communication) Vineet Punia sat on empty cylinders to register their protest. The mike was also kept on a gas cylinder.

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(With agency inputs)