Oil marketing companies have hiked petrol and diesel prices by 28 paise per litre and 27 paise a litre respectively, across India on Monday. The prices were hiked for the 21st time since May 4 after an 18-day hiatus as elections progressed in four states and a Union territory.
In Delhi, petrol hit an all-time high of Rs 95.31 a litre, while diesel is now priced at Rs 86.22 per litre. With the hike, Kerala has joined the league of six states and union territories—Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Ladakh—where the fuel rate has breached the psychological Rs 100-mark. Premium petrol is retailing at Rs 100.24, Rs 100.20, Rs 101.16, Rs 100.35 in Wayanad, Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad and Idukki districts. The rates are the highest in Parassala where it is being sold at Rs 101.14.
Wayanad MP and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit out at the government over the rise in petrol prices, and said the waves of tax collection epidemic are continuously coming. "The process of unlocking has started in many states. While paying the bill at the petrol pump, you will see the rise in inflation by the Modi government. The waves of tax collection epidemic are continuously coming," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.
कई राज्यों में अनलॉक की प्रक्रिया शुरू हो रही है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 7, 2021
पेट्रोल पम्प पर बिल देते समय आपको मोदी सरकार द्वारा किया गया महंगाई में विकास दिखेगा।
टैक्स वसूली महामारी की लहरें लगातार आती जा रही हैं।
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also termed the rise in petrol prices as an "excessive public loot" and said the Modi government is responsible for it. "Excessive public loot - in the last 13 months, petrol and diesel have risen by Rs 25.72 and Rs 23.93 per litre. In some states, petrol has crossed Rs 100 per litre. The increase in taxes by the Modi government and not high crude oil price is responsible for this rise in petrol and diesel prices," he said on Twitter.
In Delhi, petrol is nearing the Rs 100-mark as it is selling at an all-time high of Rs 95.31 a litre. Diesel is now priced at Rs 86.22 per litre. In Mumbai, a litre of petrol and diesel is retailing at Rs 101.52 and Rs 93.58 respectively. Mumbai on May 29 became the first metro in the country where petrol was being sold at over Rs 100-a-litre mark.
Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges. Retail prices have risen after an increase in international oil prices on investors' optimism that improving demand and a dwindling supply glut may mean the market can absorb any additional production from OPEC and its allies.
Brent crude, the global oil-price benchmark, is nearing $72 per barrel for the first time in two years. Rajasthan levies the highest VAT on petrol and diesel in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Oil companies revise rates of petrol and diesel daily based on the average price of benchmark fuel in the international market in the preceding 15 days, and foreign exchange rates.
