West Bengal CM Mamata Demands 'Substantial' Reduction In Taxes On Petrol & Diesel, Writes To PM Modi

CM Mamata Banerjee wrote to PM Modi seeking a reduction in taxes charged by the Central government on petrol and diesel, and asked to "check the overall inflationary trend in the country".

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Kolkata: Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has penned a letter to PM Narendra Modi asking for a reduction of Central Government-imposed taxes on petrol and diesel.

Seeking to draw attention to policies that "has brought great distress among the common people of the country," Banerjee claimed that the rise of oil prices has impacted "the dangerously rising" inflation in India.

The letter claimed that prices of petrol and diesel have been hiked by the Central Government 8 times since 4th May and that this measure has affected the common people most adversely.

It also connected rising prices of petroleum prices with a spike in Wholesale Price Index by 12.94 percent, Consumer Price Index by 6.30 percent, and prices of edible oils by 30.8 percent amongst others.

To further the point, the letter claimed that the revenue collected by the Central Government from the taxes levied on oil and petroleum products, an amount of Rs. 3.71 lakh crore, is a "staggering" jump from the revenue collected in 2014-15. The letter reasoned that this jump is due to relentless hikes in Central Excise Duty on oil and petroleum products.

(Courtesy: ANI)

Spiralling up since the last couple of weeks, petrol costs in the state have now touched the unprecedented century mark in areas like Barasat and Coochbehar whereas the state capital, Kolkata is almost on the brink with Rs. 99.90/litre.

In the national capital, Delhi, per litre petrol is costing 99.92/litre with the record high set at Ganganagar with Rs. 111.15/litre.

Diesel, which is also climbing the ladder fast, is not far behind with rates like Rs. 92.33/litre in Kolkata and 89.42/litre in Delhi.

Accusing the BJP of bottlenecking the federal distribution of finances in the country, the letter alleged that the states have been denied a 42 percent legitimate share of the collected taxes.

Although it mentioned that the Bengal state government has given a rebate to both petrol and diesel prices, the letter demanded a substantial reduction of the prices.