In an obvious bid to woo the public ahead of the assembly elections, the Gujarat government on Tuesday announced 4 per cent reduction in VAT on petrol and diesel.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said at his residence in Gandhinagar that, from Wednesday, the new petrol rates would be Rs 66.53 per litre and diesel would be Rs 60.77 per litre.
He said that the reduction in VAT would mean a deficit of Rs 2,316 crore for the government.
VAT, he said, was reduced following an appeal by the Centre.
Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said that the government was also increasing the commission given to fair price shop owners. The commission per quintal was raised from Rs 83 to Rs 102.
These are not just the two announcements that the state government has made.
A fortnight ago, the state government announced the purchase of groundnuts at Rs 900 per 20kg; the minimum support price of Rs 844 per 20kg last year.
Currently, the market price of the groundnut is Rs 650 per 20 kilogram. The government will buy groundnut from 106 centres across the state.
A few days ago, the state government announced the setting up of a commission for upper castes. This step was announced after conducting talks with the Patidar leaders. Patidars have been agitating for over two years. They have been demanding reservation under the OBC category.
Notification for the Gujarat elections is expected in about a fortnight's time.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and national BJP president Amit Shah have been making frequent visits to Gujarat, Congress party vice president is undertaking the Navsarjan Yatra.
Currently, Gandhi is in the second leg of the yatra, which will be held in three phases.
