Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah on Tuesday alleged that petroleum imports had increased under the Narendra Modi regime, though the Prime Minister has been blaming the previous UPA government for the escalation in fuel costs on the grounds that the earlier dispensation had not done much to reduce the dependence on fuel imports.
Seeking to move an adjournment motion in the Assembly on the problems faced by people because of the increasing prices of petroleum products, Mr. Siddaramaiah alleged that petroleum imports under Mr. Modi’s reign had surpassed the import level under the UPA regime by 43.81 million tonnes.
He wondered why the government had failed to reduce the dependence on petroleum imports even though seven years had passed since the BJP came to power at the Centre. “Under UPA II, the petrol price stood at ₹57 a litre when crude oil was ruling at $125 a barrel. Now, under the Modi regime, the petrol price has touched ₹94 a litre when crude oil is just around $55 a barrel,” he said.
“Excise duty currently levied on petrol is ₹32.98 a litre; on diesel it is ₹31.83 a litre, as against ₹9.21 a litre (petrol) and ₹3.45 a litre (diesel) at the end of UPA II’s rule,” he said.
Referring to BJP leader and former Union Minister Subramanian Swamy’s tweet that “petrol price is highest in Rama’s India (₹94) compared with that in Sita’s Nepal (₹53) and Ravana’s Lanka (₹51)”, the former Chief Minister wondered if this is “Rama Rajya”.
Turning down the request for considering an adjournment motion, Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri said he would allow a discussion for 30 minutes on the issue.
Chants of ‘Jai Sriram’
The Congress members chanted “Jai Sriram” in the Assembly to make a dig at the ruling BJP over their promise of creating a “Rama Rajya”.
Responding to this, Home and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Basavaraj Bommai remarked, “We are happy to see Congress members chanting ‘Jai Sriram’ at least now.”
Hitting back at him, Mr. Siddaramaiah said, “Rama belongs to us also. I am a devotee of Rama. In fact, Rama is there in my name itself.”
Taking a cue from this, the Speaker wondered if Mr. Siddaramaiah had donated funds for the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya. Mr. Siddaramaiah shot back that he had made contributions towards the construction of a Ram temple at his native village in Mysuru district instead.
