‘Centre should reduce price, don’t ask us’: States hit back at PM Modi over request to reduce fuel rate

The raised prices of petrol and diesel have been an issue for the common man for quite some time and addressing this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed seven states to reduce the tax on fuel rates, though this statement did not go well with their chief minister.

During a recent meeting with CMs, PM Modi urged seven states - Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Jharkhand – to reduce the Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel, since they have not done so “for some reason.”

The chief ministers of these states, as well as the opposition parties, hit back at PM Modi for “playing politics” and conducting a “misleading and one-sided” meeting over the Covid-19 situation and rising fuel prices across the country.

In a rebuttal to PM Modi, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee told reporters, “PM Narendra Modi has delivered a completely one-sided and misleading speech. The facts shared by him were wrong. We have been providing a subsidy of Re 1 on every litre of petrol and diesel for the last three years. We've spent Rs 1,500 crore on this.”

We have been proactive in slashing all our levies to bring down airfares, while GoI is preaching free sermons without practising them.(3/3)

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) April 28, 2022

Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray were also not pleased with the remarks made by PM Modi, saying that the Centre is giving the state “step-motherly treatment”.

In a statement, Thackeray said, “The Union government owes Rs 26,500 crore to the Maharashtra government. Maharashtra’s contribution to direct taxes collection at the national level is 38.3 per cent and its share in the GST (collection) is 15 per cent, but the Centre gives us step-motherly treatment.”

pic.twitter.com/M1Jdl2fqpw

— Office of Uddhav Thackeray (@OfficeofUT) April 27, 2022

Telangana CM and TRS leader K Chandrashekar Rao also slammed the prime minister over his request to lower fuel prices in several states. KCR said that the Telangana government has not hiked their petrol and diesel prices since 2014.

"After Telangana state was formed, we have never raised petrol and diesel prices. It has been raised by the BJP government at the Centre. We have not raised taxes, why should we reduce it?" he said, as per PTI reports.

Urging all the states to reduce the VAT on petrol and diesel prices, PM Modi had said, “I urge all states to work as a team in this time of global crisis following the spirit of cooperative federalism.”

(With inputs from agencies)

READ | West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee asks Centre to reduce prices of cooking gas, petrol, diesel