No fuel price hike in Telangana since 2014, Centre has no right to ask state to reduce taxes: CM KCR

Telangana has not hiked fuel prices since 2014 when TRS assumed power and the central government has no right to ask the state to reduce the taxes, party President and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said on Wednesday. In his concluding remark at the Telangana Rashtra Samithi's 21st Foundation Day celebrations here, the chief minister described the video conference held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on COVID-19 situation as "drama conference".

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"The PM held a video conference with CMs on the corona situation... In that conference, he (Modi) talks about reducing taxes on fuel. Can the PM talk like this?" Rao said. “Had Modi been concerned about the public, his government would not have hiked petrol and diesel rates and even the cess?”, he asked.

"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. "This is undesirable, unwanted and uncalled for," he said adding that the Centre is not ashamed of asking the states to reduce taxes on fuel when it itself had hiked it.

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