Parties condemn fuel price hike

Political parties have condemned the increase in petrol and diesel prices and have sought a rollback with immediate effect.

In a statement on Tuesday , Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president Su. Thirunavukkarasar said the rise in petrol price to ₹76 a litre and diesel to ₹68 a litre was “an attack on the people of the country by the BJP”.

Mr. Thirunavukkarasar said when the BJP came to power in 2014, the price of crude was $108 per barrel. On April 2, 2018, it had fallen to $76 per barrel, a fall of 30%, he said. “On that basis, the price of petrol should now be ₹45 per litre, and diesel ₹40 per litre. But the government has increased the excise duty 12 times so far,” the Congress leader said.

He said the “anti-people BJP government” was creating more and more problems for the people with the hike in fuel prices as it has had a cascading effect on the prices of other commodities. He said the price hike should immediately be withdrawn.

Tamil Maanila Congress president G.K. Vasan too slammed the price hike and said the government should stop this policy of changing prices everyday. “Instead of fixing prices on a daily basis, the Centre should fix fuel prices. The government should also come forward to completely abolish excise duty for fuel and instead bring it under the GST,” Mr. Vasan said.

All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi president R. Sarathkumar said the government should significantly reduce the fuel prices which are eating into the savings of the people. “If the government doesn’t listen to any of the demands, it will have to live with the tag of being an anti-people government,” he said.