Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government over rising prices of petrol and diesel, accusing it of 'fuel loot'.
Surjewala took to Twitter to explain the taxation process on fuels and alleged that the government earned ₹20 lakh crore in six years by increasing prices. He also bifurcated the base price, excise duty, value added tax (VAT), profit of oil companies and the price paid by the common man.
In the tweet posted in Hindi, the Congress general secretary said the base price of diesel is ₹33.46 per litre and that of petrol is ₹31.82 per litre. However, for the common man petrol costs ₹89.29 per litre and diesel costs ₹79.35 per litre, said Surjewala. He attributed the wide ranging gap between the base price and market price to the significant amount of tax imposed by the government on fuel. Tax on diesel amounts to ₹46.24 per litre, while on petrol it is ₹57.29 per litre, he claimed in the tweet.
The petrol and diesel prices increased for the eight consecutive day on Tuesday. After the recent hike, petrol prices in Delhi have inched closer to ₹90 per litre.
{{/usCountry}}The petrol and diesel prices increased for the eight consecutive day on Tuesday. After the recent hike, petrol prices in Delhi have inched closer to ₹90 per litre.
{{/usCountry}}Petrol in Delhi today cost ₹89.29 per litre after it was hiked by 30 paise, while diesel cost ₹79.70 per litre after the increase of 35 paise.
In Madhya Pradesh, petrol prices have crossed ₹100 per litre. The rates differ from state to state contingent on the local sales tax, VAT or freight charges.
The hike in the fuel prices comes in the backdrop of the recent hike of domestic LPG cylinders in Delhi. The rate of the cylinder used for domestic household cooking was increased by ₹50 per unit to ₹769.
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The opposition party is vehemently criticising the increased fuel prices that are directly affecting the citizens of the country.
"By continuously rising fuel prices, the BJP government is fulfilling its mission 'Aab Ki Baar Petrol/Diesel ₹100 Paar'. It is now an open secret that the BJP government does not believe in welfare but is launching economic warfare against its own citizens," PTI quoted party spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill as saying.
Other party leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have also criticised the government for the price hike.