NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday questioned the Centre’s decision to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel. The party alleged that the move was announced in view of the upcoming Assembly elections rather than real consumer relief.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera further said the move did not translate into immediate relief for consumers. “If you saw headlines about prices coming down, you would be mistaken. Prices remain unchanged for both dealers and consumers,” he said, adding that the reduction applies to the ‘special additional excise duty’ paid by oil companies.
Congress MP Manish Tewari also criticised the government, saying the move was being presented as if the Centre was bearing the cost from its own pocket. He said public money was being portrayed as a favour rather than a policy decision.
Meanwhile, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said that despite several instances over the past 12 years when global crude oil prices fell, fuel prices in India were not reduced. “When global crude oil prices fell on seven different occasions, consumer prices were not cut. Today’s announcement is because of the Assembly elections, wait till April 30,” Ramesh wrote in a post on X.
The government has reduced excise duty on petrol from Rs 13 per litre to Rs 3, and cut the levy on diesel from Rs 10 to nil. The decision comes ahead of the Assembly polls in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry on April 9, Tamil Nadu on April 23, and West Bengal on April 23 and 29.