The government had on Thursday announced a Rs 2.5 per litre cut in petrol and diesel prices, of which Rs 1.5 per litre is on account of reduction in excise duty. Additionally, the state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) have been mandated to reduce prices of petrol and diesel by Re 1 a litre. As many as 12 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, MP and others implemented the same and have reduced the fuel prices by Rs 5 per litre.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken wrote to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal requesting him to reduce the value-added tax on petrol and diesel "to the same level as it was in December, 2013, during the Congress regime in the city". In a letter to Kejriwal, Maken pointed out that the VAT charged on petrol in Delhi is 27 per cent and that on diesel is 16.5 per cent, while the same during the Congress regime in Delhi was 20 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.
According to a statement issued by the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC), the state unit chief elaborated in his letter that on December 21, 2013, during the Congress regime in the national capital, people of Delhi had to pay as VAT Rs 14.30 per litre of petrol and Rs 6.45 per litre of diesel. "Under your (Kejriwal's) government, the VAT on petrol/litre is Rs 22.68 and on diesel it's Rs 12.45/litre as on 4th October, 2018," he said. "That means that the citizens of Delhi have to shell out an extra amount of Rs 8.38 per litre of petrol and Rs 6 per litre on diesel," Maken added.