Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed Prime Minister Modi’s ‘swipe’ at the states for not reducing petrol, diesel taxes. He said 68% of all fuel taxes are taken by the Centre but the PM blames the state. Be it the high fuel price, coal shortage or oxygen shortage, the Centre passes the buck to the states, he said.
PM Modi said some states reduced VAT on fuel after Centre waived the tax last year. Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Jharkhand have not reduced fuel tax. He said this is an injustice to their people and also to the states which have reduced tax.
The issue has snowballed into a massive controversy with each of the states named by PM Modi disagreeing with the claims he made. Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said petrol will be cheaper if opposition-ruled states cut taxes on fuel instead of imported liquor, taking a swipe at Maharashtra.
Telangana minister KT Rama Rao said fuel prices have shot up because of the NPA central government. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said her government spent ₹1,500 crore subsidising petrol and diesel. “PM Narendra Modi has delivered a completely one-sided and misleading speech,” she said.
