Ummid Assistant

IGNOU invites applications for online agriculture programme

Fellowship for scribes writing on hunger

Welcome Guest! You are here: Home » National

Opposition, allies flay petrol price hike

Wednesday May 23, 2012 10:51:36 PM, IANS

Related Articles

Petrol prices hiked Rs.6.28 plus taxes

Petrol prices have been hiked by Rs.6.28 per litre, exclusive of taxes, effective midnight, it was announced here Wednesday. Petrol will cost Rs.73.14 per litre in Delhi against the existing price of Rs.65.64  »

Fuel price hike a necessity but no decision yet: Jaipal Reddy

New Delhi: India Wednesday hiked petrol prices by an unprecedented over Rs.7 a litre, triggering protests from the opposition and even government allies. But the industry hailed it.

Just a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned of taking "difficult decisions" to mobilise revenue, state-controlled refiners hiked the fuel price by Rs.6.28 a litre exclusive of taxes effective midnight Wednesday.

This, an official said, was meant to compensate losses incurred by the companies for selling petrol at subsidised rates.

The hike will range between Rs.7.54 and Rs.7.98 in the four metros and would be higher or lower in other cities depending on the extent of taxes.

India Inc said the increase had become inevitable with the continued slide of the rupee's exchange rate.

"The inflationary impact of such an increase is ... transitory. It can be mitigated by reduction in taxes by the central and state governments," the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry said.

Indian Oil Corporation said given the losses being incurred, it was forced to hike the price of petrol.

"This excludes losses already suffered till date during current financial year 2012-13, which would require an additional increase of around Rs.1.50 a litre in selling price of motor spirit for balance part of the year," it said.

Petrol in Delhi will cost Rs.73.18 a litre, in Mumbai Rs.78.57, in Kolkata Rs.77.88 and in Chennai Rs.77.53 a litre.

A defensive Congress took refuge in the high global prices of oil. "Global prices are up and the oil companies take their own decisions after the deregulation of petrol prices. India is part of the world and so it is affected too," said Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi.

The middle class reacted with predictable anger. The opposition tore through the official justification of the price rise while allies DMK and Trinamool Congress too flayed the Congress-led government.

But even as she attacked the Congress for not consulting the allies over the issue and expressed her opposition to the price rise, Trinamool leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to quit the UPA.

Both DMK chief M. Karunanidhi and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal demanded an immediate rollback, saying the hike would badly hurt the common man.

The CPI-M and other Left parties were the most critical.

D. Raja of the Communist Party of India said: "It is just a prelude. It will burden the common people and we will protest on the streets and the government will have to rollback the hike."

Corporate Affairs Minister M. Veerappa Moily justified the decision, pointing out at the fiscal deficit and an economic situation "going out of hand". He said the price rise was "most minimal".

The Bharatiya Janata Party blamed fiscal mismanagement for the decision. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha mockingly called it a "gift" from the UPA-II government on its third anniversary.

Indian states levy sales tax of 15-33 percent. Among the other levies are VAT and additional sales tax.

India deregulated petrol prices in June 2010 but continues to subsidise kerosene, diesel and cooking gas to protect the poor from inflationary pressures.

Petrol prices were last revised Nov 4, 2011.

The oil companies have been losing Rs.8,000 crore per annum as they were being forced to sell petrol at subsidised rates.

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister S. Jaipal Reddy had said Tuesday the depreciation of the rupee had necessitated an immediate increase in fuel prices.
 




 

 






 

 

Home | Top of the Page

Comments

Note: By posting your comments here you agree to the terms and conditions of www.ummid.com

Comments powered by DISQUS

i

i

More Headlines

Ensure conductive atmosphere for girls, Court says to Delhi school

Microsoft to incubate 10 Indian start-ups

Petrol prices hiked Rs.6.28 plus taxes

Rupee sinks to 56.18 against dollar

Israeli scientists open prospect of repairing damaged hearts

BJP meet will discuss differences -- within

Samajwadi Party's next goal: Mulayam as PM

Oxytocin activates brain function in autistic kids

Rajive Gandhi killers pass Plus 2 exams

Fuel price hike a necessity but no decision yet: Jaipal Reddy

Mufti Sayeed demands hassle-free cross-LoC trade

Tight British visas driving Indian students to Australia

Have power to frame CNG tariff rules, regulator tells court

i

 

 

 

Top Stories

Petrol prices hiked Rs.6.28 plus taxes

Petrol prices have been hiked by Rs.6.28 per litre, exclusive of taxes, effective midnight, it was announced here Wednesday. Petrol will cost Rs.73.14 per litre in Delhi against the existing price of Rs.65.64  »

Fuel price hike a necessity but no decision yet: Jaipal Reddy

 

  Most Read

Maharashtra HSC results to be declared online on May 25

The Maharashtra State Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Education will declare HSC results (class 12) for the   »

Helpline for students ahead of board exam results

Rupee sinks to 56.18 against dollar

The Indian rupee breached another psychological level of 56 against a dollar Wednesday and plunged to a low of 56.18 in the intra-day, hitting a record low for the sixth session in a row. The partially convertible rupee hit a low of 56.18  »

Rupee dips to record low of 54.42 against dollar

 

  News Pick

Samajwadi Party's next goal: Mulayam as PM

Just over two months after Akhilesh Yadav took over the reins of Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party seems to have fast-tracked its campaign to pitch party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav as the next prime ministerial candidate.  »

No 'conclusive study' to link cellular tower radiation with cancer: Medical experts

There are no conclusive scientific studies anywhere to prove low radiation emitted from cellular towers can cause cancer in human beings, and authorities must gear up to tackle other  »

Microsoft to incubate 10 Indian start-ups

Start-ups that can build any application using the company's cloud platform and operate in any business or market segment will be eligible to apply for the programme, being launched simultaneously in Beijing (China),  »

 

Picture of the Day

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh releasing the “Report to the People” on the completion of three years of UPA-2 Government, at a function, in New Delhi on May 22, 2012.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

RSS  |  Contact us

 

| Quick links

News

 

Subscribe to

Ummid Assistant

 

National

Science & Technology

RSS

Scholarships

About us

International

Health

Twitter

Government Schemes

Feedback

Regional

History

Facebook

Education

Register

Politics

Opinion

Newsletter

Contact us

Business

Career

Education

     

 

 

Ummid.com: Disclaimer | Terms of Use | Advertise with us | Link Exchange

Ummid.com is part of the Awaz Multimedia & Publications providing World News, News Analysis and Feature Articles on Education, Health. Politics, Technology, Sports, Entertainment, Industry etc. The articles or the views displayed on this website are for public information and in no way describe the editorial views. The users are entitled to use this site subject to the terms and conditions mentioned.

© 2012 Awaz Multimedia & Publications. All rights reserved.