West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday wrote to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee calling on her to reduce state taxes on petroleum products and said that "mere rhetoric and hollow sloganeering will not do" so she should take "real and tangible actions.
"This will have a multiplier effect and will result in the overall reduction in price rise. Mere rhetoric and hollow sloganeering will not do. Please take real and tangible actions on the above matter," Chowdhury said in the letter.
"You have also raised the above matter on various public platforms. However, you have not done anything concrete to bring the price rise under check," the Congress Lok Sabha MP added.
"In line with the Congress-ruled States which have slashed their State taxes on petroleum products, why is it that West Bengal has not done so? The residents of West Bengal have been left high and dry. I appeal to you that you may please take concrete action on this issue and cut the State taxes so that the price of petroleum products in West Bengal comes down," he added.
"I wish to draw your kind attention to the initiatives taken by all the Congress-ruled states to cut the prices of petroleum products in the State. All these States have slashed their State taxes to bring some relief to the common man who is reeling under serious inflation and price rise," he stated.
"In view of the skyrocketing prices of petroleum products, it has become difficult for the common man to make both ends meet. Life has become a real struggle for them and because of this price rise, it has become difficult to lead a decent and dignified life," he stated.
Following the decision of the government of India to reduce central excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 respectively, 25 states and Union Territories have also undertaken a commensurate reduction of VAT on petrol and diesel to give relief to consumers, informed the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on Friday.
However, as per the ministry, 11 States and UTs which have not undertaken any reduction in VAT in petrol and diesel are Maharashtra, NCT of Delhi, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan.
( With inputs from ANI )
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