Farmers Movement Archive

In assembly, Satyendar Jain ‘dares’ Centre to bring fuel prices under GST ambit

Delhi minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday challenged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government to bring petrol and diesel under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, in light of the hike in fuel prices across India.Speaking on the third day of the ongoing budget session in the Delhi assembly, Jain said the BJP government should act “sensitively” on farmers’ issue and roll back the three contentious farm laws, protesting against which a large number of farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other states have gathered at Delhi’s borders.Also Read: Case to get petrol, diesel under the ambit of GST“Petrol and diesel prices in Delhi are still much lower than several other cities today. Currently, in Delhi, petrol is priced at ₹91.17 and diesel at ₹81.47. Let’s take the example of a city like Bhopal. Petrol there is priced at ₹99 and diesel at ₹89. Bhopal is in a BJP-ruled state… Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has publicly said petrol and diesel should be brought under GST. But it is the BJP, which does not want to do so because then they will not get to overcharge for fuel in the states they rule. Today, I challenge the BJP government (in Centre) to bring petrol and diesel under GST,” said Jain, who holds health, home and industries portfolios.Jain’s comments came during a discussion on the spike in auto fuel prices, kitchen staples, edible oil and other essential commodities in the capital in the past few weeks.Currently, in Delhi, consumers pay VAT at the rate of 30% on petrol and 16.75% on diesel.BJP MLA and leader of the opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said, “The Delhi government opened liquor shops during the lockdown and imposed an additional 70% cess but they spent the additional revenue on publicity. So, they had to increase VAT on petrol and diesel. They have reduced VAT from 30% to 17% on diesel but not on petrol. Why? States such as UP and Haryana have reduced VAT by 5%.”Bidhuri said, “Amid such difficulties because of hike in fuel price, the AAP government has yet not implemented several central government schemes such as Ayushman Bharat, Pradhan Mitra Awaas Yojana, etc, which could have acted as a safety net for people.”Responding to this, AAP MLA from Kalkaji Atishi said it was because of the safety nets created by the AAP government, in the form of subsidised water bills, power bills, quality health care, quality education and free bus rides for women, that the Residents have been able to manage despite the price rise.The discussion witnessed high drama with Speaker Ram Niwas Goel ordering marshals to evict BJP MLAs Vijender Gupta, OP Sharma, Mohan Singh Bisht and Jitender Mahajan for insisting on a discussion on alleged irregularities in buses recently inducted into the fleet of the DTC – which, Goel said, was unrelated to the list of business.

Hindustan Times

11-03-2021

Delhi