Fuel Price Cut: Rahul Gandhi urges PM Narendra Modi to bring petrol, diesel under GST

A day after the Centre effected a Rs 2.50 per litre cut in both petrol and diesel prices, Congress president Rahul Gandhi Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring the fuels in the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). In his tweet to PM Modi, Gandhi also mentioned about the distress of netizens over the skyrocketing fuel prices since August 16.

The Congress earlier blamed the "excessive tax rates" imposed by the Centre and state governments on petrol and diesel in the BJP-ruled states. The party had last month hold a nation-wide strike, demanding the Modi government bring petrol and diesel under the purview of the GST.

Gandhi's fresh move came after the Centre on Thursday cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.50 per litre and asked oil firms to absorb Re 1 a litre of prices, resulting a total slash of Rs 2.50/litre.

The state governments in a few states further gave an additional relief of Rs 2.50 a litre, making petrol and diesel by cheaper by Rs 5 in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and other BJP-governed states.

Read | Petrol, diesel witness major cut after Centre's relief across states; Know October 5 price in metros

"Respected Modi ji, the common man is very distressed over skyrocketing prices of petrol and diesel. Kindly bring petrol and diesel under the purview of GST," Gandhi tweeted.

आदरणीय श्री मोदीजी, आम जनता पेट्रोल-डीजल के आसमान छूते दामों से बहुत ज्यादा परेशान है.

आप कृपया पेट्रोल-डीजल को GST के दायरे में ले आइए।

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 5, 2018

It's been a quite long time now that the Congress chief has been attacking the government over high petrol and diesel prices and attacked the ruling dispensation of earning Rs 13 lakh crore due to taxes imposed on petrol and diesel.

Early on Thursday Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala hit out at the Modi government over what it described as a "meagre" reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel, saying it is like applying a band-aid after inflicting a thousand wounds on the people of the country.

Read | Petrol, diesel prices cut by Rs 2.50; BJP-ruled states asked to announce additional relief

Surjewala described government's move as a "panic reaction" after facing public ire and an "imminent defeat" for the BJP in upcoming assembly elections in five states, and said the step will bring little relief to the people as it is like "reducing death sentence to life imprisonment".