Key Points:
- On Sunday, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the rising petrol and diesel prices CANNOT BE BROUGHT DOWN because the government is saving money for the welfare schemes.
- Pradhan said that he accepts there’s hike in fuel prices but the government has spent a lot on vaccines and PMGKY for ration and for farmers under PM Kisan.
Petrol prices have taken the proverb ‘Sky is the Limit’ quite seriously as the rates are rocketing higher everyday. The century mark has been crossed already and diesel isn’t any lower either. Amidst this, a word from the Union Petroleum Minister is expected, reasoning the hike in a responsible manner. And guess what? The Minister did have a statement to give!
On Sunday, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the rising petrol and diesel prices CANNOT BE BROUGHT DOWN because the government is saving money for the welfare schemes.
Though the Union Minister accepted the continuous hike in fuel prices that has been a major problem for the common man, he clearly said that it cannot be brought down.
Pradhan said that since government expenses are up due to Covid relief measures, “the Centre is saving money to spend on welfare schemes”.
“I accept that fuel prices are pinching consumers, there’s no doubt about this. But over Rs 35,000 crore has been been spent on Covid vaccines in a year. Rs 1 lakh crore has been spent on Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Yojana in order to provide eight months’ ration to the poor. A few thousand crores of rupees have also been transferred to farmers’ bank accounts under PM Kisan…In such dire times, we’re saving money to spend on welfare schemes,” Pradhan said, speaking to the media, as reported by Indian Express.
The centre has have had a lot of debt of criticism and unfair ruling over its head and the rising Fuel Prices is just one of them. Pradhan immodestly said to the opposition party – the Congress governments in Rajasthan and Maharashtra to cut sales tax if the party was “that concerned about the burden on the common man”. Pradhan was asked about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s repeated attacks on the Modi government in relation to the hike in Fuel Prices. Responding to this, Pradhan said, “Rahul Gandhi must answer why fuel prices are high in Congress-ruled states like Punjab, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. If he is so concerned about the poor, he should instruct the Maharashtra CM to reduce taxes, as fuel prices are very high in Mumbai.”
On the contrary, states under the rule of the Bharatiya Janata Party like Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka have also crossed the ₹100/litre mark but Pradhan was mum over the BJP governments doing what he asked the Congress governments to do.
Fuel prices vary from state to state depending on local taxes such as VAT and the freight charges levied on them.
States and Union Territories with its ruling parties that have Fuel Prices above Rs.100/litre:
– Andhra Pradesh (YSR Congress)
– Karnataka (BJP)
– Ladakh (Central Rule)
– Madhya Pradesh (BJP)
– Maharashtra (Shiv Sena and NCP)
– Rajasthan (Congress)
– Telangana (TRS)
