KOLKATA: West Bengal Pradesh Congress president Adhir Chowdhury on Saturday said both the central and state governments should give relief to the public on fuel prices as petrol crossed the Rs 100 per litre mark in Bengal. He said the party would take up the issue in the coming monsoon session of Parliament.
Chowdhury cited the case of Chhattisgarh, where petrol prices have gone down by Rs 12 a litre and diesel by Rs 4 after the state government lowered the VAT on fuel. “Some states have already started a rethink to find a way out. The Centre should also lower the excise duty considering the plight of the common man during the pandemic,” he said. He urged the Bengal government to cut the VAT rate to reduce the burden on people.
The Congress leader also claimed that the Narendra Modi government had mopped up Rs 25 lakh crore from fuel while the rising prices impacted public transport and trade.
