India News | BJP, Cong Term AAP Govt's Decision to Cut VAT on Petrol 'delayed Measure'

New Delhi, Dec 1 (PTI) The BJP and the Congress on Wednesday termed the Arvind Kejriwal government's decision to cut VAT on petrol a "delayed measure" and criticised it for doing nothing to bring down the price of diesel.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal does not have any intention for the welfare of farmers as he did not reduce VAT on diesel, said Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri.

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While welcoming the Delhi government's decision to reduce VAT on petrol, he termed it a "delayed step" and demanded immediate reduction of diesel prices to give respite to farmers and transporters.

"The Delhi government should reduce VAT on diesel as public transport operators and farmers use only diesel. This will also reduce the prices of vegetables and everyday items, directly benefiting the public," Bidhuri said.

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BJP MP and former Delhi unit president of the party Manoj Tiwari said that Kejriwal could have decided to cut VAT on petrol when the Centre reduced excise duty on it and help Delhi save crores of rupees.

Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar claimed the cut in VAT on petrol was a result of "persistent protests" by his party.

"Arvind Kejriwal has been forced to reduce Value-Added Tax (VAT) on petrol. However, but unless VAT on diesel is also reduced, Delhiites will continue to suffer as soaring prices of all essential commodities due to high transportation cost have disturbed the budget of all households," he said.

The Delhi Congress has been holding protests demanding reduction of VAT on petroleum products after the Union government slashed Excise Duty on petrol and diesel, Kumar said.

"Despite a reduction in VAT on petrol and diesel by many state governments, including the Congress-ruled ones in Punjab and Rajasthan, the chief minister of Delhi tried to delay it as far as possible. Now, he half-heartedly reduced VAT on petrol but not on diesel."

The Delhi Congress will "force" the Kejriwal government to cut VAT on diesel as well, Kumar said.

The Delhi government on Wednesday decided to reduce VAT on petrol, bringing down the price of the fuel in the city by about Rs 8 per litre, a move Chief Minister Kejriwal said will give relief to Delhiites from inflation.

The petrol and diesel prices in Delhi have now become cheaper than other cities in the National Capital Region (NCR), Kejriwal said.

The price of petrol after the reduction in VAT will go down from the current rate of Rs 103 per litre to Rs 95 per litre. The change will come into effect from Wednesday midnight, officials said.

According to a Delhi government statement, the city's diesel prices are already the "cheapest" in NCR at Rs 86.67 per litre while the rates of diesel in Noida and Gurgaon are Rs 87.01 and Rs 87.11 per litre, respectively.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)