Reduce hefty taxes charged by Centre on fuel: Mamata writes to Modi
Kolkata: Expressing concern and anguish over the distress caused to the common people with "shocking" rise in prices of petrol and diesel, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to substantially reduce the Central taxes on fuel to provide relief to people by checking the present inflationary trend in the country.
Banerjee held the Centre's policy of collecting hefty tax from oil and petroleum products as the sole reason behind the abnormal jump in fuel prices and stated in her letter that hikes in petrol and diesel prices triggered inflation that resulted to "significant hardship" for the common people of the nation as "major inflation in prices reduces" their "real income".
"Shockingly, the retail price of petrol in many states across the country has crossed an unprecedented Rs 100 per litre. I have come to learn that petrol and diesel prices were hiked by your government eight times since May 4 and out of these, prices were hiked 6 times in the month of June and shockingly, 4 times in one week.
These rather cruel hikes in petrol and diesel prices have affected the common people most adversely and have directly impacted the dangerously rising inflation in the country," Banerjee wrote to the Prime Minister.
Repeatedly drawing attention to the inflation caused by the hike in fuel prices in her letter to Modi, the Chief Minister further stated: "You are aware that the Wholesome Price Index (WPI) in the country rose by 12.94% in May 2021, compared to May 2020. Similarly, Consumer Price Index rose by 6.30% where the prices of edible oils used by common people every day, rose by 30.8%, eggs by 15.2%, fruits by 12%-and health-related items, in the middle of the pandemic, by as much as 8.44%...I express my deep concern and anguish to you for pursuing policies which have resulted in this significant hardship for the common people of the nation".
This comes when the Mamata Banerjee government has withdrawn Re 1 cess from petrol and diesel to give relief to the common people.
Raising her demand for substantial reduction in the Central taxes, Banerjee expressed her wonder knowing that the Centre collected revenue of Rs 3.71 lakh crore only from oil and petroleum in the 2020-21 fiscal when people were extremely distressed amidst Covid pandemic. "In the midst of this Covid pandemic, the Government of India has collected revenue of staggering Rs 3.71 lakh crore from oil and petroleum products in the financial year 2020-21. In fact, over the last six years of your government, Government of India's tax collection from oil and petroleum products has jumped by a staggering 370% since 2014-15, due to constant hikes in Central Excise Duty on oil and petroleum products including cesses and surcharges, at the cost of the common people," her letter reads.
She also took a jibe stating urging the Prime Minister "to desist from the anti-federal trend developed in the last few years" after stating that she was alarmed knowing that the Centre is "constantly increasing the Cess component of central tax revenues which results in denying the States its legitimate share of 42% of tax collected by government of India, without sharing with the states".
The petrol price in Kolkata is just 16 paise short of hitting Rs 100 mark as it stood at Rs 99.84 with an increase of 39 paise on Monday. Though there was no change in diesel price (Rs 92.27 a litre) on Monday, the price of petrol has hovered between Rs 100.01 to Rs 100.88 at different places in 19 out of 23 districts in the state. The places where the petrol price hit Rs 100 includes Diamond Harbour, Duttapukur, Krishnanagar, Chinsurah, Burdwan, Asansol, Bankura, Purulia, Cooch Behar, Suri, Kharagpur, Digha, Murshidabad, Alipurduar, Darjeeling, Balurghat, Kalimpong and Jhargram.
Trinamool Congress will hold state wide protest rallies and sit-in-demonstration at every block and towns on July 10 and 11 from 10 am to 4 pm protesting against the spiralling fuel prices.
Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee said: "They have turned the lives of common people quite miserable as the price of cooking gas has also been increased when people are facing a trying time with an abnormal increase in the prices of petrol and diesel". Supporters of the rulling party in the state also held protest rallies at Haldia in East Midnapore and Raghunathpur in Purulia. Congress supporters too staged demonstrations protesting against the same near Airport gate number 1.
In Delhi, the petrol price soared to Rs 99.86 per litre while diesel rates remained unchanged at Rs 89.36. Price of petrol in Mumbai and Chennai stood at Rs 105.92 a litre and Rs 100.75 a litre respectively. The diesel prices in these two metropolises were Rs 96.91 and Rs 93.91 respectively.
