Back-to-back hikes ‘cruel’; slash central taxes, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee urges PM Modi

KOLKATA: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee wrote to PM Narendra Modi on Monday, urging him to reduce central taxes on petrol and diesel to check inflation and provide relief to people.
The Centre’s tax collections from oil and petroleum products had “jumped by 370% since 2014-’15” because of the hikes in duties, cess and surcharges at “the cost of the common people”, Banerjee’s letter said. Even amid Covid, she added, the Centre collected a revenue of Rs 3.7 lakh crore in the 2020-’21 fiscal year only from oil and petroleum products.
“I have come to learn that petrol and diesel prices were hiked by your government eight times since May 4, 2021,” Banerjee wrote, adding that June alone saw six hikes. Four hikes, “shockingly”, came in one week, the letter said, adding that “the cruel hikes” had impacted common people and “directly impacted the dangerous” inflation rate.
The wholesale price index rose by 12.9% in May 2021 (compared to May 2020), Banerjee said; the consumer price index rose by 6.3%, edible oil prices rose by 30.8%, the price of eggs by 15.2%, fruits by 12% and health item prices — even in the middle of a pandemic — rose by 8.4%. “I express my deep concern and anguish for the policies that have resulted in this significant hardship for common people,” she wrote, reminding Modi that the Bengal government had voluntarily reduced the state’s sales tax component on oil and petroleum by one rupee each this February as a “token of our empathy for the common people”.
The Centre was “constantly increasing the cess component of central tax revenues”, Banerjee said, adding that this cess accrued wholly to the Centre.
The Trinamool Congress on Monday announced a two-day campaign on July 10 and 11 “in every block and town” to protest against the fuel price hike. Party secretary-general Partha Chatterjee said the protests would conform to all Covid protocols. “I have never seen this (type of a hike) in my life. LPG prices, too, are skyhigh. It is affecting every aspect of life and kitchens are on fire,” he said. The Trinamool Youth Congress has already announced protests in districts, some starting from Tuesday, which will continue till Friday.