Dharmendra Pradhan: Fuel price hike a result of weakening rupee

Dharmendra Pradhan

Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday reiterated that the spike in the price of petrol and diesel in the country was because of the depreciation in the value of the Indian Rupee against the US dollar. Pradhan also said one of the reasons behind the rise could be the decrease in the production of oil in the countries that produce them.

Launching a scathing attack at the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government in Odisha, who urged the Centre to reduce taxes on oil prices, Pradhan claimed that the state government was "shedding crocodile tears" over the price hike.

"In 2014, the Odisha government was collecting an annual tax revenue of about Rs 3,000 crore from fuel, and now, they are collecting Rs. 7,000 crore. It is their duty to reduce the Value Added Tax (VAT) but they are not ignoring it. Even a few months ago, the Central government deducted the excise duty on petrol and diesel, but the government in Odisha didn't do anything. They are shedding crocodile tears over the price hike," Pradhan told reporters here.

Earlier, Patnaik, while responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement on the slow pace of development in Odisha, had said that the Prime Minister should address the spiraling rise of petrol and diesel in the country, which is adding to the woes of common man.

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