AAP’S APPEAL TO CENTRE: BRING PETROLEUM PRODUCTS UNDER GST

CHANDIGARH: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday appealed to the Centre to bring petroleum products under the goods and services tax (GST) or cut oil prices further to give relief to common people.

AAP’ state chief spokesperson Malwinder Singh Kang said the Centre should do more to reduce rates as the state governments are passing through financial crisis and cannot impose any taxes. “In Punjab also, the state’s financial position that we have inherited is not hidden from anyone, but we are still giving incentives to farmers and offering minimum support price on crops like moong, besides initiating a series of other welfare measures,” he said on being asked about the Centre’s appeal to the states to decrease the value-added tax (VAT) to provide relief to consumers.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on Saturday announced a reduction in excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and on diesel by Rs 6 per litre to rein in inflation. Kerala, Maharashtra and Rajasthan are among the states which have reduced VAT after the centre’s excise duty cut.

Blaming the centre for inflation, Kang said the BJP government at the centre has made life difficult for common people by constantly adding to the financial woes of the people for the last eight years. “In 2014, Narendra Modi’s slogan was ‘Bahut hui mehngayi ki maar, Abki baar Modi sarkar’. But like his other promises, it also turned out to be a complete jumla,” Kang said at a press conference here.

Kang claimed that the country’s economy has collapsed due to the wrong policies and failures of the central government. He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take concrete steps to lower inflation.