A day after petrol diesel prices were cut in nine BJP-ruled states BJP has slammed the Maharashtra Government for not bringing down the state’s Value Added Tax (VAT) on petroleum products in the state.
A day after the Centre brought down prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 respectively, The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance responded saying BJP reduced prices only after the latter’s loss in the recent bypolls held in many states.
Bhagwat Karad, Union Minister of State for Finance, said he would be speaking to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar to reduce the state’s taxes on diesel and petrol by Rs 7.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said “They have raised the prices of petroleum products by Rs 100 and then brought it down by Rs 5. They (Centre) should have brought it down by at least Rs 25. If the people want petrol and diesel cheaper by another Rs 50, then the BJP should be voted out”.
As per the notification by the Union Ministry of Finance, the excise duty on petrol will come down by Rs 5 and that on diesel by Rs 10 and it will be effective from Thursday. The government also urged the states “to commensurately reduce” VAT on petrol and diesel to give relief to consumers.
Following the reduction in excise duty by the Central government and the request from the states to reduce prices further, nine BJP-ruled states have announced additional cuts in petrol and diesel rates. The nine states where additional cuts have been announced on petrol and diesel prices are Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Karnataka, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
