Accusing the Modi government of "ruthlessly profiteering" from the sale of petrol and diesel, Congress on Sunday demanded a reduction in fuel prices by up to Rs 25-30 per litre and pass on the benefit of falling crude oil prices to common people reeling under "unprecedented" price rise.
Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh claimed that public and private sector oil companies are making a profit of more than Rs 10 per litre on diesel and petrol but they were not providing any relief to the people of the country.
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"If the Modi government wants to provide relief to people from the back-breaking inflation, it can be sensitive like the previous Congress government, and stop profiteering by reducing central taxes on petroleum products and slash the price of petrol and diesel by up to Rs 25-30 per litre," Ramesh said in a statement.
He said that the Congress' demand for a 35% reduction in the prices of petroleum products is in view of the substantial fall in the prices of crude oil in the international market and this could provide some relief to people who are reeling under unprecedented price rise.
Claiming that the Modi government has pushed the country into a "vicious cycle" of inflation, he said the prices of essential commodities will automatically fall if the prices of petroleum products are reduced, as it would lead to decrease in transportation costs.
Ramesh alleged that the Modi government has in the last nine years regularly increased tax on petrol and diesel and has extracted more than Rs 32 lakh crores from the people.
Compared to that, during the Congress-led UPA, he said, the excise duty of petrol and diesel were kept under control to provide relief to the people while bearing heavy under-recoveries. This is hurting the poor, the lower-middle class, and the middle class the most, he added.
"In May 2014, under the UPA government, the excise duty on petrol and diesel was Rs 9.20 and Rs 3.46 per litre respectively. Under the BJP regime currently the excise duty is Rs 19.90 and Rs 15.80 per litre on petrol and diesel respectively. This, in comparison to the UPA regime is 116% and 357% higher respectively," he said.
"The Modi government, instead of passing on the benefits of low crude oil prices to the people, is hell-bent on looting their hard-earned money and is resorting to brazen profiteering by selling cheap oil at expensive rates," he said.
Quoting a CRISIL report, he said the Public Sector Oil companies are estimated to make an operating profit of rupees Rs 1 lakh crore this year, which is three times more than Rs 33,000 crore profit they made the previous year.
"Also, in the first quarter of the current fiscal the ‘refining margins’ are also expected to increase. If the PSU companies are making huge profits, the same benefit is being extended to the private companies as well," he added.