Petrol pumps shut in Delhi today; Arvind Kejriwal blames BJP
The petrol pump strike in Delhi has been announced in the wake of CM Arvind Kejriwal’s refusal to bring down prices of petrol and diesel in Delhi by cutting down VAT or sales tax.
New Delhi: All the 400 petrol pumps along with CNG dispensing units in Delhi are shut today in protest against the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) refusal to reduce VAT on fuel, the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association (DPDA) said. The petrol pumps in Delhi will remain closed from 6 am today till 5 am on Tuesday.
There are about 400 petrol pumps in Delhi which also have linked compressed natural gas (CNG) stations and all of them will be closed for nearly 24 hours in protest, the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association (DPDA) said in a statement.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has alleged that it is a BJP-sponsored strike.
The Centre government had reduced the excise duty on petrol and diesel by ₹ 1.50 per litre and had asked state-run oil marketing companies to reduce the prices by another Re 1 per litre. Following the announcement, several BJP-run state governments had also reduced VAT by ₹ 2.5 to provide a total relief of ₹ 5 per litre to the consumers.The AAP government in Delhi, however did not do so, resulting in fuel becoming more expensive than bordering Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
DPDA president Nischal Singhania has urged Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP to immediately reduce VAT on petrol and diesel “DPDA urges the Delhi government to immediately reduce VAT on petrol and diesel and encourage commuters to buy euro VI fuel and save the livelihood of employees and owners of petrol pumps of Delhi and also save state’s revenue loss."
Petrol and diesel prices were cut for the fifth straight day today on softening international oil prices. Petrol price was cut by 30 paise a litre and diesel by 27 paise, according to the price notification of state-owned oil firms. In Delhi, petrol now costs ₹ 81.34 a litre and diesel is priced at ₹ 74.92 per litre. In Mumbai, petrol is sold for ₹ 86.91 per litre and diesel at ₹ 78.54.
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