KTR slams Centre for keeping fuel prices higher despite lower crude oil prices

Hyderabad: IT minister K.T.Rama Rao on Friday accused the BJP-led Centre of being insensitive to the needs of the people, for reducing the windfall tax on crude oil, a move that would benefit the corporate sector, instead of transferring the benefit of lower crude prices to the people by way of slashing petrol and diesel prices.

In a media statement, Rama Rao said, "The Central government did not reduce prices of petrol, but it brought down the taxes paid by corporate companies. This clearly shows that the corporate companies are the top priority for the Central government."

He said that the government had saved Rs 35,000 crore by importing crude oil from Russia at discounted prices, but two to three companies had benefited from it. Rao said that corporate companies refined the Russian crude oil and exported it.

He asked why the Centre had allowed export of the refined products. “Ordinary Indian citizens did not benefit from it. Who is pocketing profits,” Rao asked.

Taking on the Centre for blaming states like Telangana for higher petrol prices, Rao pointed out that cess imposed by the Centre was the reason for the higher fuel prices. Rama Rao said that the Centre had collected Rs 30 lakh crore in the form of cess. He also said that the Telangana government had not increased the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 2014.

Rao said that the price of petrol can be reduced to Rs 70 per litre and diesel to Rs 60 per litre if the Centre scraps cess.