Vasundhara Raje's sop bonanza before elections, slashes vat on petrol, diesel

In what appears to be a pre-pol sop bonanza amid skyrocketing fuel prices, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Sunday slashed value-added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel by four per cent. The reduction in the VAT will cut the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 2.5 per litre in the state. The changes will be applicable from midnight today (September 9).

During a public meeting in Hanumangarh’s Rawatsar as part of her ‘Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra’, Raje announced that the VAT on petrol will be reduced from 30 to 26 per cent and on diesel from 22 to 18 per cent.

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“We have decided to reduce VAT on diesel and petrol by 4 per cent, which will provide much-needed relief to the people of the state, be it farmers or women or others,” Raje told reporters in Rawatsar after making the announcement.

The move to reduce VAT on petrol and diesel in the poll-bound state came a day ahead of the Congress party’s nationwide shutdown on Monday over the skyrocketing fuel prices. The prices of petrol and diesel set new records on Sunday as they continued their upward march on fall in rupee and surge in global crude oil rates.

The Opposition Congress is saying that the “disastrous economic policies” of the Narendra Modi government in the Centre is the reason behind the unprecedented increase in the fuel prices and historic fall in rupee.

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Before coming to power, Modi and several other BJP leaders had promised to bring down the fuel prices. However, their tune changed after coming to power and the prices touched a record high under the BJP rule.