Sonia Gandhi writes to PM for rollback of high Taxes on Petrol and Diesel
Following is the extract of Letter written by Congress President Smt Sonia Ghandhi requesting rollback of Taxes on Petrol and Diesel
Dear Prime Minister
I hope this letter finds you well
I write to you to convey every citizen s anguish & deep distress regarding the spiralling fuel & gas prices On one hand, India is witnessing systematic erosion of jobs wages and household income. The middle class and those at the margins of our society are struggling These challenges have been compounded by run-away inflation and an unprecedented rise in price of almost all household items and essential commodities Sadly, in these distressing times the Government has chosen to profiteer off peoples misery & suffering.
Fuel prices are at an historic and unsustainable high In fact. Petrol has breached the Rs 100/litre mark in many parts of the country The surging price of Diesel has added to the escalating woes of millions of farmers What baffles most citizens, is that these prices have been increased despite moderate prices of International crude oil To put 4 in context, the crude oil price is nearly half of what it was during the UPA Government s tenure Therefore your Governments act of raising prices (continuously for 12 days till February 20th) is little less than a brazen act profiteering.
I fail to understand how any government can justify such thoughtless and insensitive measures directly at the cost of our people Your Government has increased excise duty on Diesel by 820% 8 on Petrol by 258% over and collected upwards of Rs. 21 lakh core in the last six and a half years This unaccounted-for windfall is yet to be passed to the people for whose benefit it was ostensibly collected.
As I had expressed earlier it was cruel on the Government’s part to refuse to reduce fuel prices even when global crude oil had crashed to 5201barrel last year The whole principle of deregulation & dynamic pricing is predicated on the principle that reductions in crude oil prices will proportionately benefit the end consumers The fad that your Government fails to do so, implies a deliberate and conscious decision to deny the common man his legitimate due
Instead, ironically, your Government has been unreasonably overzealous in levying excessive excise duty on Petrol and Diesel, i.e., Rs 33 on every litre of Petrol and Rs. 32 on every hire of Diesel which is higher than the base price of these fuels This is nothing short of extortion to cover up economic mismanagement As the principal party in opposition. I urge upon you to follow Raj Dharma and reduce fuel prices by partially rolling back excise duty.
The astronomical rise in domestic non subsidised LPG Gas cylinder to Rs 769 in Delhi (and over Rs. 800 in many states like Uttar Pradesh) is even more cruel and has impacted every household. Can there be any justification for the Government increasing the price of a cylinder by Rs.175 in two and a half months since December 2020?
The truth is that GDP nose dives, the prices of Gas, Diesel & Petrol continue to rise unchecked.
What is equally distressing is that despite being in power for almost 7-years now your government continues to blame previous regimes for its own economic mismanagement To set the record straight domestic crude oil production has fallen to an 18-year low m the year 2020.
Governments we elected to ease the burden of our people and at the very least, not work directly contrary to their Interests, I urge you to role back these increases and pass on the benefit to our middle & salary class, our farmers It poor and our fellow citizen. It is they who are batting an unprecedented economic slowdown, widespread unemployment, wage reductions & job losses, high prices and erosion of income I hope you will agree that is time for your Government to focus on solutions instead of looking for excuses. India deserves better
