Fuel prices
In a news article headlined ‘Man dies in pool, cardiac arrest suspect,’ which appeared on May 21, 2018, HT quoted a senior police officer saying the deceased had a heart condition. It has now been clarified that Nitin Gupta, 35, did not have any previous heart-related problems. Gupta’s elder brother Sachin said Gupta died of a possible stroke while swimming. The family does not suspect foul play, he added. Prima facie, the police have also ruled out foul play.
Petrol and diesel prices have surged in the country after a rally in international crude oil, which last week rose the highest since 2014 due to production cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries or Opec. Slamming the government, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury too questioned the Centre’s decision to put on hold rise in oil prices in the run-up to Karnataka polls. “Oil firms resume daily price revision. The 19-day pre-karnataka polls hikes were stalled. Why was it stopped then, and why resumed, we have no explanation for it. So just fool the people, speak of 'no govt regulation' of (oil) price, then only cynical manipulation till polls,” he tweeted. “Skyrocketing oil prices has put great burden on the common man.” Yechury said.
Opposition leader Sharad Yadav said the government’s unwillingness to reduce taxes on oil prices made it “anti-people”. He said when oil prices were trading low, the government was more interested in using the revenue from oil taxes to bridge its fiscal deficit instead of passing on the benefits of relatively low international crude price to consumers. Yadav said the government should bring petrol and diesel under the Goods and Services Tax. He said that would make their prices stable.
Industry lobbies, such as Ficci and Assocham, on Monday also appealed to the government to cut fuel excise duty. "Unless swift action is taken to address the situation, economic growth will again head towards a speed breaker. Among the most immediate actions that can be taken by the government is to bring down the excise duty on fuel," FICCI president Rashesh Shah said.