Eros TimesNew Delhi:EROS TIMES: July —The Delhi Pradesh Mahila Congress (DPMC), under the leadership of its president Sharmistha Mukherjee, held a demonstration outside the BJP office at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, Rouse Avenue, to protest against the increased Central Excise duty and cess on petrol and diesel, resulting in back-breaking hike in the cost of petrol and diesel in Delhi.
Thousands of women members of the Delhi Pradesh Mahila Congress participated in the demonstration, forcing the police to close the DDU Marg for traffic for a few hours.
Sharmistha Mukherjee said that in the very first union budget of the 2nd term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Central Government inflicted a heavy burden on the common people by hiking the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs. 2.5 and Rs. 2.3 per litre, respectively. Calling it a ‘pocket-maar’ tax against the poor, middle class and ordinary people of India, Mukherjee slammed the Central Government, saying that the Modi Government “is clearly revealing its anti-people approach from the very beginning of its second term”.
She said that while giving tax relief to corporates by bringing down income tax from 30% to 25% for companies having more than Rs. 400 crores annual turnover, the Modi Govt. is passing the burden of filling up its coffer by taxing the common people, especially those who use public transport and two-wheelers, small farmers who use pumps and other agro-implements run on diesel.
Mukherjee said that despite the prices of crude oil remaining at a record low in the international market, constant hikes in the prices of petrol and diesel have been a regular feature of the Modi Govt.
She said that in its previous regime of the last five years, the BJP Government at the Centre increased excise duty on petrol by 211% and on diesel by 443%.
This additional hike is literally going to cost dear to the ordinary people of India. Any hike in petrol and diesel prices has a cascading effect resulting in overall inflation, including food inflation. For women running households on limited budget, this additional cost will increase their burden.
Mukherjee said that Nirmala Sitharaman, being the first woman to present a union budget after Indira Gandhi, should have been more sympathetic to women’s cause.
Her budget had nothing substantial for women, rather it just increased their problem with this additional tax.
Mukherjee also slammed the Kejriwal Govt. for refusing to reduce VAT on petrol and diesel.
The Kejriwal Govt. has increased VAT on petroleum products twice in the last four and a half years charging 27% VAT on petrol and 16.75% on diesel. Mukherjee said that even the Kejriwal Govt.
is also benefiting from the additional excise duty as VAT is calculated in terms of percentage.
That is why the Kejriwal Govt. is silent on this issue. Mukherjee said that while indulging in continuous shadow boxing between AAP and BJP Govt, both the parties cooperate when it comes to looting the poor taxpayers in Delhi.
On behalf of DPMC, Mukherjee demanded an immediate roll back of the increased excise duty on petrol and diesel by the central Govt. and corresponding reduction in VAT by the Govt. of Delhi.
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