The Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Takam Sanjoy on Tuesday asked the Chief Minister Pema Khandu to slash local taxes of petrol and diesel. He also came down heavily on the Centre for the “exorbitant high rate of fuel” in the country.
A report appearing in the Business Standard said Sanjoy alleged that the Narendra Modi Government is “looting the people with high prices in petrol and diesel”.
The report further quoted Sanjoy as saying, “The average price of fuel around the world is 1.17 US dollar per barrel while it is 1.16 dollar per litre in India.”
“All countries have access to the same petroleum prices of international markets but impose different taxes and offer subsidies leading to different retail prices of fuel,” said Sanjoy, a former MP, in a statement. The APCC chief asked the State’s BJP Government to immediately reduce all local taxes and VAT on fuels as the high rate is pushing up prices of essential commodities in Arunachal Pradesh where transportation by road is the only means of communication. If it was not done, he said, the Congress would launch an agitation across the State.