The Congress on July 30 accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government of “brazen profiteering” by selling cheap oil at expensive rates and alleged that it has pushed the country into a “vicious cycle of inflation”.
In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh quoted a CRISIL report to argue that public sector oil companies would make an operating profit of ₹1 lakh crore as against ₹33,000 crore last year.
Public sector and private sector oil companies are making a profit of more than ₹10 per litre on diesel and petrol, Mr. Ramesh noted, and added that crude oil has become cheaper by 35% in the international market in the past one year.
“The Modi government, instead of passing on the benefits of low crude oil prices to the people, is hell-bent on looting their hard-earned money and is resorting to brazen profiteering by selling cheap oil at expensive rates,” Mr. Ramesh said.
The Congress leader said in the nine years of Modi regime, the average price of crude oil has remained around $65 per barrel and in the last three months it has consistently remained between $70-80. But retail prices have not been reduced by the government.
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“The Modi government has pushed the country into a vicious cycle of inflation. The prices of essential commodities like vegetables, fruits, edible oils etc., have skyrocketed,” Mr Ramesh said, adding, “If the prices of petroleum products are reduced, the prices of other essential commodities will automatically fall, as this will reduce the transportation costs and provide nationwide relief from inflation.”
Giving a comparison of taxes under UPA and the Modi government, he said the excise duty was ₹9.20 on every litre of petrol and ₹3.46 on every litre of diesel in May 2014 when the UPA was in power while the excise duty right now is ₹19.90 on petrol and ₹15.80 on diesel.
