Price cut too little, too late, says Akhilesh Yadav

Earlier in the day, the Centre announced a Rs 2.5 subsidy per litre on both diesel and petrol. This includes a Rs 1.5 cut in excise duty from the revenue department and Re 1 which will be borne by oil marketing companies. Following this announcement, the CM held a meeting with senior officials and took the decision to bring down prices even further.

Saying that the price of petrol and diesel in UP was among the lowest in the country and that the state government had put no additional tax burden on petroleum products, the CM said that international fuel prices had resulted in the sharp rise in fuel prices in the country as well and that there had been a growing demand for the past many days to control and then reverse this rise in price. "We are grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this step. The new prices will be implemented as soon as the Centre implements its subsidy," the CM said.

On the other hand, describing the Centre and state government's move to slash petrol and diesel prices, as "too little too late", Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the move was aimed at helping oil companies, which are facing a steep drop in their share prices.

"The government could have given a proper and lasting relief to the public by bringing fuel under GST," he said, adding that the relief will only matter temporarily. "Now that elections are due and the BJP is afraid of losing, it has resorted to such cosmetic exercises," Akhilesh said.