BHUBANESWAR: President of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Niranjan Patnaik on Sunday demanded immediate roll back of fuel price hike as the unprecedented rise has severely affected all sections of people.
Targeting Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan for his statement that the fuel prices will come down in April, Patnaik said the hike to unprecedented levels has nothing to do with seasons.
Price of petrol and diesel is not dependent on seasons, he said and added that the Centre is trying to divert people’s attention from such a serious issue by giving such baseless explanations. Stating that the price of crude oil has come down in international market since 2017,
Patnaik asked that if fuel and cooking gas have become so costlier due to the winter season, how were they lower in the same period in 2017, 2018 and 2019. He alleged that the Centre is increasing the fuel price to compensate the loss of revenue because of the reduction of corporate tax from 35 per cent to 25 per cent in 2019-20 fiscal.