Stalin attacks PM over tax cut on petroleum products

Chennai: Training guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of tax cuts on petroleum products, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday said people were aware of the fact behind the issue and pointed to his gover nment effecting a Rs 3 a litre cut on petrol earlier.

Since 2014, whenever inter national crude rates dipped, the NDA government did not pass on the benefit to the customers but only pocketed the additional revenue earned from the differential, he said replying to an issue raised by Congress legislature party leader K Selvaperunthagai in the Assembly on the PM’s virtual meeting with the state chief ministers.

“The Prime Minister had said some states were not cooperating with the Centre in its efforts to reduce the fuel prices and attributed the reasons for the rise in the price to the states as t h e y are not reducing their taxes. To comment on it in one line: it is like concealing a pumpkin in a handful of rice,” the CM said referring to the Tamil saying (Muzhu poosanikkayai sothla maraikiradhu) indicating that the PM was not revealing the facts.

While the excise duty levied on petrol and diesel has to be shared with states, that has been reduced, thus affecting the states’ revenue, he said. “While the cess and surcharges are not meant to be shared with the state governments, these have been exorbitantly hiked, thus burdening people and the union government is enjoying the revenue earned from this,” the CM added.

He also accused the Centre of “pretending” t o have reduced t h e f u - elrelated taxes d u e t o “elections in some states,” in an apparent reference to the polls held earlier this year in five states, including Uttar Pradesh and Goa. He charged that a week after the state elections, the prices were hiked.

However, soon after winning the elections and forming the government last year, unmindful of the fiscal position, and according priority to people’s welfare, his government had effected the tax cut for petrol even before Centre did, Stalin pointed out.

“People are aware of this. Who shows real keenness in reducing petrol rates and who pretends and lays the blames on others--I leave it to the people to decide,” Stalin said. (PTI)