Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has penned a letter to PM Narendra Modi asking for a reduction of Central Government-imposed taxes on petrol and diesel.
Seeking to draw attention to policies that “has brought great distress among the common people of the country,” Banerjee claimed that the rise of oil prices has impacted “the dangerously rising” inflation in India.
The letter claimed that prices of petrol and diesel have been hiked by the Central Government 8 times since 4th May and that this measure has affected the common people most adversely.
It also connected rising prices of petroleum prices with a spike in Wholesale Price Index by 12.94 percent, Consumer Price Index by 6.30 percent, and prices of edible oils by 30.8 percent amongst others.
To further the point, the letter claimed that the revenue collected by the Central Government from the taxes levied on oil and petroleum products, an amount of Rs. 3.71 lakh crore, is a “staggering” jump from the revenue collected in 2014-15. The letter reasoned that this jump is due to relentless hikes in Central Excise Duty on oil and petroleum products.
Noting that petrol and diesel prices were hiked eight times since May, of which six times were in June alone, she said the fuel price hike have adversely affected common people and directly impacted the inflation in the country.
“I would like to draw your attention to the government of India policy which has brought great distress among the common people of the country. Shockingly, the retail price of petrol in many states across the county has crossed an unprecedented Rs 100 per litre,” she wrote.
“It is my earnest request that the taxes charged by the Central government on petrol and diesel be substantially reduced to give much-needed relief to the common people and also to check the overall inflationary trend in the country today,” the chief minister wrote.
In a letter to Modi, Banerjee wrote that since he became the prime minister in 2014, the tax and surcharge levied by the Central government on oil and petroleum products have been increased by a whopping 370 per cent “at the cost of the common people”.
“Shockingly, the retail price of petrol in many states across the country has crossed to an unprecedented Rs 100 per litre… I have come to learn that petrol and diesel prices were hiked by your government eight times since May 4, 2021, and out of these, prices were hiked six times in the month of June only and shockingly, four times in a week. These rather cruel hikes in petrol and diesel prices have affected the common people most adversely, and have directly impacted the dangerously rising inflation in the country.”
The TMC has also asked all its MLAs to stage protests on July 10-11 against fuel price hike, said minister Partha Chatterjee.
Sources in the Trinamool Congress (TMC) told News18 that All India General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee might lead the protest against fuel price hike.
Earlier on Monday, Abhishek tweeted and questioned the Centre over the issue.
“While people are facing severe economic distress during #COVID19, @narendramodi Ji decided to snatch the benefit of low crude oil prices by imposing record duty hikes. However, when it’s rising again, he passes on the hardship to common man. Disgraceful!” he wrote.
“As fuel prices hit a HISTORIC HIGH, @BJP4India govt. seems to be working very hard towards adding to the woes of the public. Not much has changed from 2020. The same old blame game continues while the demands of the people of India are conveniently ignored!” he added in another tweet.
