Petrol-diesel Price Rise: Chidambaram blames Modi Government, says it is due to 'excessive taxes'

Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday blamed the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for rise in petrol and diesel prices, saying "excessive taxes" caused the spurt. He demanded that petrol and diesel be brought under GST.

Chidambaram, who was former finance minister, slammed the government in a series of tweets and demanded that petrol and diesel be brought under the GST immediately.

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"Relentless rise in prices of petrol and diesel is not inevitable. Because, the price is built up by excessive taxes on petrol and diesel. If taxes are cut, prices will decline significantly," he said.

The central government blaming the states is a "spurious argument", Chidambaram said, urging the Centre and states to act together to address the issue.

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"The BJP forgets that its boast that BJP is ruling 19 States. Centre and States must act together and bring petrol and diesel under GST. Congress demands that petrol and diesel be brought under GST immediately (sic)," he tweeted.

For the eighth consecutive day, petrol and diesel prices touched highest levels on Monday across the country mainly due to fall in rupee and a sharp rise in crude oil rates. While petrol price in Delhi rose to a record Rs 79.15 a litre, diesel was up to a fresh high of Rs 71.15, according to price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.