Assam CM says fuel prices in Guwahati among lowest in India, thanks PM Modi

On Saturday, the Centre slashed excise duty on petrol and diesel by ₹8 per litre and 7 per litre respectively, reducing their respective rates by ₹9.5 a litre and ₹7 a litre.

Published on: May 22, 2022, 18:25:36 IST

By HT News Desk, New Delhi

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A day after the Union government slashed excise duty on fuel, thus reducing petrol and diesel rates by ₹9.5 per litre and ₹7 per litre respectively, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said fuel prices in the state’s largest city of Guwahati were now among the cheapest in India, and thanked prime minister Narendra Modi for Saturday’s decision.

A file photo of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (TWITTER/ @himantabiswa.)

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“My deep gratitude to Adarniya PM Shri @narendramodiji for his directive to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel. Earlier, following his directive, BJP-led state govts had reduced taxes on fuel. Happy to note that fuel prices in Guwahati is now among the cheapest in India,” Sarma wrote on Twitter.

With his tweet, the BJP leader posted an infographic comparing the cost of 1 litre of petrol and equal quantity of diesel in Guwahati with the corresponding figures in some other cities. The infographic showed that petrol is available in the metropolis at ₹96.01 per litre, while diesel is retailing at ₹83.94 a litre, the lowest among all the listed cities, including Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai.

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A day ago, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced, among other things, that the excise duty on petrol and diesel was being slashed by ₹8 per litre and ₹6 per litre respectively, adding that the move will have a revenue implication of around ₹1 lakh crore per year for the central government.

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Soon after the announcement, PM Modi took to Twitter to hail the decisions, remarking that for his government, ‘it is always people first!’

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Previously, the Centre slashed excise duty on petrol ( ₹5 for each litre) and diesel ( ₹10 for each litre) on November 3 last year. After the present reduction, the central excise on petrol will come down to ₹19.90 a litre, while that for diesel will fall to ₹15.80 a litre.

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