Chandigarh, July 22
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab has demanded from the ruling Congress government that the farmers along with all sections should get relief from the exorbitant prices of diesel and petrol by exempting the state’s share of tax. In a press statement issued from the party headquarters here on Thursday, MLA and party’s Kisan Wing state president Kultar Singh Sandhwan said that if the Modi government did not consider it necessary to control the rising prices of diesel, petrol and cooking gas for the people of the country; then the state government should take necessary steps at its own level immediately.
Kultar Singh Sandhwan said that today in Punjab, diesel has crossed Rs 90 and petrol has crossed Rs 100 per litre and every section is suffering due to 35 times hike in diesel and petrol prices in last two and half months; but neither the Modi government at the Centre nor the Captain government in Punjab is listening the cries of the people. Sandhwan questioned why petroleum products have been kept out of GST under the GST system which has been imposed on the states by strangling the federal structure of the country.
Sandhwan said that Central and State governments were levying about 60 per cent tax on oil products, out of which Punjab government was levying 19 percent VAT on diesel and more than 31 per cent VAT on petrol, due to which diesel and petrol prices in Punjab are higher than Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi, while being the leading state in agriculture, Punjab has the highest diesel consumption and one third of the total consumption was used in the agricultural sector.
The AAP leader said that the Modi government was working under the pressure of corporate oil companies and it cannot be expected from them in the interest of the general public. However, it was unfortunate that Captain Amarinder Singh government of Punjab was also following in the footsteps of the Modi government, said Sandhwan. He said the Aam Aadmi Party had earlier on July 19 sent a memorandum to the Centre through all the Deputy Commissioners against the uncontrolled fuel prices.
