Delhi's petrol dealers call off Monday strike

Petrol dealers here have called off their one-day strike Monday after assurance from Delhi's Food and Civil Supplies Minister Haroon Yusuf.

The Delhi Petrol Dealers Association demanded a reduction in value added tax on diesel in Delhi. The minister assured them that their problem would be resolved after the Congress party returns to power in Dec 4 poll, a statement said. "We called off the one-day strike demanding parity of VAT with Haryana," said Rajeev Jain, executive member of the association. "The code of conduct is in place due to the upcoming elections. So, he (Yusuf) has acknowledged our request and has promised to address it when they come back to power after the elections," said Jain.

VAT on diesel in Delhi is 12.5% compared to 9% in Haryana, which means that a litre of diesel in Haryana is cheaper by Rs.1.50. As a result, motorists, especially truckers, fill up their tanks in the neighbouring state which hurts our revenue, Jain said.

The dealers association said that reducing VAT on diesel will help the residents of Delhi in many ways as it will encourage the use of environment friendly Euro 4 diesel apart from increasing the state's revenue and reducing Inflation.