Congress blames central, state governments for fuel price hike

NEW DELHI : Blaming the Centre and the state governments for the fuel price hike, Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken on Monday said these items have gone beyond the purchasing power of the common people because of the high excise duty rate and VAT on petrol and diesel.

“The Modi government, during its four-and-a-half years in power, collected R 11 lakh crore as taxes while people have been severely affected by the price rise,” said Maken addressing his party workers during a protest at a petrol pump near Pusa Road on Monday.

Several senior city leaders, including former members of Parliament, ministers, and MLAS of Delhi, also participated in the protest, which was part of the nationwide ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by the Congress against the rise in petroleum products prices across the country.

The women’s wing of the Delhi Congress led by its president Sharmishtha Mukherjee staged a separate demonstration at ITO along with All India Mahila Congress.

“During the tenure of the BJP government at the Centre and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi, the prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed. Not only the poor, even the middle-class have to struggle to earn their livelihood, despite the fact that both governments had promised to bring the prices down of essential commodities,” Maken said.

The Congress leader said that due to the heavy duty on petrol and diesel, the price of cooking gas has seen two-fold increase.

“During the Congress-led UPA Government’s tenure, cooking gas was available for R 400 per cylinder which has now gone up to R 754 per cylinder,” he said.