Bhubaneswar: State finance minister Sashi Bhusan Behera Sunday slammed the union government for the hike in fuel prices and alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is generating funds from the hike for the upcoming elections.
Behera held the BJP-led NDA government in Centre responsible for the hike in fuel prices stating that the 26 per cent VAT collected by Odisha government on petrol and diesel is far less than the amount collected by about 13 to 14 other states.
He further advised the Central government to take immediate measures to check the prices or be prepared to face public outrage in future.
Behera alleged that though the Central government October 4 announced a cut of Rs 2.50 per litre in the petrol and diesel prices, the promised Re 1 cut on the base price has not been implemented till date.
Even when the crude oil prices have dropped in the international market, the BJP government in Centre, which came to power in 2014, has taken petrol and diesel as its weapon and is likely generating funds through them for the upcoming elections, he added.
Rubbishing the allegations, state BJP general-secretary Prithviraj Harichandan replied, “Not only Odisha government but all the state governments in India are aware of the reason behind the hike in petrol and diesel prices.”
While about 13 to 14 states have reduced VAT on petrol and diesel prices as asked by the Centre after it announced a cut of Rs 2.5 per litre, Odisha government has till date not taken any step towards it, he pointed out.
Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also took a jibe at Behera and said, “He (Behera) only speaks as per directions of third floor. Fuel prices have been reduced substantially in the last three days while people here are suffering as state government hasn’t cut tax on them.”
It may be mentioned here that for the first time in India the diesel price is more than that of petrol. The price of diesel Sunday was Rs 80.69 per litre against Rs 80.57 for a litre of petrol in the city.
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