Ashok Gehlot urges Centre to cut down excise duty on petrol, diesel to UPA-govt level

In a big move to bring down the fuel rates in India, the Union Government has slashed the Central excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and on Diesel by Rs 6 per litre. Following this, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday came forward to demand a further cut in the prices. Gehlot said that the Centre should bring down the excise duty on petrol and diesel to the level it was during the Congress-led UPA government for common people’s relief.

The Centre on Sunday cut down the fuel prices as inflation was pushed to a record high. CM Gehlot has now said that the Centre must further slash the prices. "Instead of doing such a formality (cutting excise duty), the central government should bring the excise duty to the level it was during the UPA government so that the common man can get relief in the real sense," Gehlot said in a tweet. Stating fuel prices to be the main reason for inflation, Gehlot said that these excise cuts would become irrelevant in the next few days. Gehlot stated that the crude oil price had reached USD 140 per barrel during the UPA government's tenure, and yet the fuel price for the general public did not cross Rs 70. He said that the former regime only levied Rs 10 as excise duty.

CM Gehlot slammed the Centre and said that the government remains silent about increasing the excise duty from Rs 10 to Rs 32. “People now know that fuel prices will be reduced when elections are near and they will be increased once elections are over”, Gehlot said. Meanwhile, petrol price was slashed by Rs 8.69 a litre and diesel by Rs 7.05 per litre on Sunday as a result of the Centre’s excise duty cut.

Centre announces reduction in fuel prices

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced that the decision to slash fuel prices had been taken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi specifically asked all arms of the government to work with sensitivity and give relief to the common man. Meanwhile, the Union Government also exhorted all state governments, especially the states where the reduction wasn’t done during the last round, (November 2021), to also implement a similar cut and give relief to the common man. Additionally, the government has announced that it will give a subsidy of Rs 200 per gas cylinder (up to 12 cylinders) to over 9 crore beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. 

Image: ANI/ PTI