BENGALURU: Citing falling crude oil rates, opposition leaders in Karnataka have demanded that the government bring down prices of petrol and diesel, to ease the burden on the common man. They urged the government, which they termed “insensitive and hard-hearted” to lower the tax burden on fuel.
“After the BJP came to power, it increased excise duty from Rs 9.21 to Rs 32.98 per litre. When crude oil prices fell below $40 per barrel, the public was denied the benefit of low fuel prices. But when crude prices started increasing, the government again increased rates. BJP burdens people with exorbitant taxes,” Opposition leader Siddaramaiah said.
The price of crude oil is around $90 a barrel. When crude was at $143 per barrel in 2008, petrol cost Rs 70 per litre and diesel was Rs 60 per litre, KPCC president D K Shivakumar said. “The government needs to fix prices proportionally.”
Economist Prof Shankarshan Basu said, “The government is not passing on the benefit of cheaper crude to the customer. Today’s crude oil prices may be around $90 per barrel, but we are getting cheaper Russian crude which is around $70 per barrel. The economy is not delivering, and the government is short of revenue. This revenue shortfall from other sources is being made good by selling petrol and diesel at artificially higher prices.’’
“We will launch a protest on all these issues -- oil prices, inflation, rising unemployment, and the pain the people go through because of a callous government,” opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said.