'Govt earning, burden being shifted on the poor': Kapil Sibal on rising fuel prices
Jun 13, 2020
New Delhi [India], June 13 : Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Saturday slammed the Central government over the rising fuel prices amid the coronavirus crisis, asserting that the government is "earning" and the "burden is being shifted on the poor".
Sibal, in a virtual press conference, said that the Central excise duty on petrol and diesel has increased by 258 per cent and 819 per cent respectively since May 2014.
"In the past few days, the prices of fuel have been consistently rising. On May 1, 2014, the price of petrol was Rs 71.41 per litre. On June 12, 2020, the price was Rs 75.16 per litre. This is an increase of 5.25 per cent," Sibal said.
He said that in this period the prices of crude have dropped by 64 per cent, yet the price of fuel has increased for the people of the country.
"Central excise duty on petrol at that time was Rs 9.20 per litre. On June 12, 2020, it was Rs 32.98 per litre. An increase of 258 per cent. The increase in the Central excise duty on diesel in the same period was 819 per cent," Sibal said.
"The government is earning and the burden is being shifted on the shoulders of the poor. Farmers use fuel for their pumps. You are putting the financial burden on these people. How will they survive?" he added.
Sibal accused the Central government of working for the benefit of industrialists and asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "unable to do anything for the poor of the country". He also said that tax on fuel in the country is the "highest" across the world.
Cornering Prime Minister Modi, Sibal went on saying, "Modi ji, a vehicle has four wheels, without them, it cannot run. For a country, one of these wheels is the Parliament, where you never answer any question. The second wheel is the government, where you do whatever pleases you."
"The third wheel is the judiciary, where your government makes a statement that there are no migrants on the roads. The fourth wheel is the Election Commission, which does whatever you say. If the four wheels of the vehicle are not moving, how will it move?" Sibal asked.
He alleged that neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi, nor his Finance Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) know anything about the country's economic situation.
