Kolkata: Hitting out at the Centre for an abnormal hike in petrol, diesel and cooking gas prices, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wondered where has the Centre's collection of Rs 4 lakh crore by increasing the fuel prices reached.
Empathising with the common man's pain due to the hike in fuel prices, Banerjee said: "Some are saying that they are raising money to help people get Covid vaccines. As far as I know, the expenditure for Covid vaccine is around Rs 26,000 crore and they have earned nearly Rs 4 lakh crore or so by increasing the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas. Where is the money?"
This comes when the petrol price in Kolkata has crossed Rs 110 mark with an increase of 36 paisa on Monday. The diesel price has also increased by 37 paisa. The petrol and diesel prices stood at Rs 110.16 per litre and Rs 101.56 per litre respectively on Monday.
Banerjee slammed the BJP and said it is a party that cheats people as they do not keep their poll assurances. "They assured of 'achhe din' and 'sachhe din' ahead of the polls. They were nothing but a load of hot air. Now, both have vanished and every day the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas are skyrocketing. At the same time, they are selling out everything starting from Railways to SAIL," she said.
Banerjee also accused BJP of doing "poll centric" politics as the party "had spent crores of rupees" to hold political rallies in Bengal ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls with "top leaders visiting the state almost every day like daily passengers".
The Chief Minister also raised questions on the availability of cooking gas for the poor under the "much hyped" Ujjwala scheme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Banerjee had repeatedly requested the Centre to intervene and she even wrote to the Prime Minister to ensure that fuel prices come down as common people are falling prey to its ill effects. "They remain indifferent and never reply to any questions related to the hike in fuel prices. As a result, common people suffer as an increase in fuel prices also lead to skyrocketing prices of vegetables," she added.
Meanwhile, major oil marketing companies on Monday raised the price of commercial LPG cylinder by Rs 266. However, the price of domestic LPG cylinders remained unchanged.
The 19 kg commercial cylinder, which was priced at Rs 1,734 in Delhi earlier, will now cost Rs 2000.50. In Mumbai, the price of a commercial LPG cylinder is now Rs 1,950. In Kolkata, it is Rs 2,073.50 while in Chennai it is priced at Rs 2,133.
LPG rates for domestic cylinders were last hiked by Rs 15 each on October 6, taking the total increase in rates since July to Rs 90 per 14.2 kg cylinder.
Currently, cooking gas costs Rs 899.50 per cylinder in Delhi and Mumbai, and Rs 926 in Kolkata. This is the rate that domestic households who are entitled to 12 cylinders of 14.2 kg each at subsidised rates, poor households that got free connections under the Ujjwala scheme and industrial users pay.
Also on Monday, petrol and diesel prices were hiked for the sixth consecutive day across the country.
In Delhi, with a hike of 35 paise a litre, the price of petrol rose to Rs 109.69 per litre while the price of diesel was increased by the same amount to cost Rs 98.42. In Mumbai, the prices of petrol and diesel increased to Rs 115.50 and Rs 106.62 per litre respectively.