‘Claiming undue credit’: Union minister's jab at opposition over fuel prices

Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri told opposition-ruled states to reduce VAT on petrol and diesel.

Published on: May 23, 2022, 15:50:06 IST

By HT News Desk | Written by Aryan Prakash

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Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday hit out at the opposition over the Centre's decision to slash excise duty on petrol and diesel.

“Not entirely surprised to see senior leaders from Rajasthan, Maharashtra & Kerala claiming credit for the actions taken by Centre & trying to pass off proportionate reduction in the VAT component due to a cut in Central Excise announced by FM, as their own reduction in VAT,” the minister tweeted.

“This reduction has nothing to do with any decision taken by the State govt. First they didn’t reduce taxes in November even as BJP states did and now they have gone a step further by claiming undue credit for the reduction announced by the centre,” he added.

Reiterating that the fuel prices in non-NDA ruled states were higher than the ones ruled by the NDA, Puri asked the opposition states to reduce VAT on petrol and diesel.

Maharashtra government on Sunday had reduced the Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel by ₹2.08 per litre and ₹1.44 per litre respectively. A statement issued by the government said the state exchequer will have to bear an annual loss of ₹2,500 crore as a result of this decision. Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis had termed the relief inadequate and accused the Maha Vikas Aghadi government of playing a cruel joke on the people.

Rajasthan also reduced VAT by ₹2.48 per liter on petrol and ₹1.16 per litre on diesel. While Kerala announced a cut in the tax on price of petrol and diesel by ₹2.41 per litre and ₹1.36 per litre respectively.

On Saturday, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the Centre had decided to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by ₹8 per litre and ₹6 per litre respectively. The reduction meant that petrol and diesel prices were cut by ₹9.5 per litre ₹7 per litre.

“It will have a revenue implication of around ₹1 lakh crore per year for the government," the minister had said.

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