MP Vamsi slams fuel excise cut, says too late

Metro India News | New Delhi

Peddapalli MP Gaddam Vamsi Krishna on Friday termed the Centre’s Rs.10 per litre excise duty cut on petrol and diesel as “too little, too late”, accusing the BJP-led NDA government of burdening citizens with heavy fuel taxes over the past decade. "It is a belated move after years of burdening the common man with high fuel prices despite low global oil costs", he remarked. 

The Congress MP alleged that despite lower global crude prices, the BJP government kept retail fuel prices high, collecting nearly Rs.25 to Rs.30 lakh crore from the public. Contrasting it with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) era, he claimed petrol prices were significantly lower even when crude oil was costlier. The BJP was now trying to project itself as pro-people while ignoring the massive taxes collected over the last decade. “Actually, in the last 10 years, when the oil barrel was 50-60 dollars per barrel, the government had increased the petrol cost to a minimum Rs 100 per litre", he pointed out.

Vamsi also raised concerns over reports of LPG shortages and panic buying in Telangana, warning that the government statements are creating unnecessary public anxiety. “Even in Hyderabad, the public are rushing to the petrol bunks, trying to fill fuel, because Modi ji in the parliament has said that the Corona time crisis is still the same. It is a very dangerous situation. And it is not good to put the public in a panic mode”, he warned.