Congress attacks Modi for high excise duty, demands roll back

The Congress on Wednesday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he attacked the opposition-ruled states for not reducing the Value Added Tax(VAT) on petrol and diesel, saying the excise duty during UPA government was much lower than what it is under the Modi regime and asked the PM to roll back the hike.

"Modiji, no criticism, no distractions, no Jumlas! Excise Duty during Congress Government - Petrol - Rs 9.48/litre and Diesel - Rs 3.56/litre. Modi Government - Petrol - Rs 27.90/litre and Diesel - Rs 21.80/litre. Please roll back the excise hike of Rs 18.42 in Petrol and Rs 18.24 per litre in Diesel," Surjewala said on Twitter.

Coming down hard on the Opposition-ruled states, Modi on Wednesday said some states did not reduce VAT on petrol and diesel despite the cut in excise duty by the Centre last November.

He said the states had done "injustice" to the people by not transferring the benefits of the cut to them.

Party spokesman Pawan Khera too joined issue with Modi in a press conference held in the national capital. "First give an account, pass that relief on to the consumers. Reduce, roll back the unprecedented hike in Central Excise on petrol and diesel, in order to give relief to the consumers, if you are actually serious about giving any relief to the consumers on petrol and diesel. 68 per cent of the taxes collected on petrol and diesel go to the share of the central government. 32 per cent come to state governments. Expecting the state governments, which have already been starved off of their share of GST is, I think, very unfair and not befitting the stature of the Prime Minister," he said.

Speaking at an interaction with chief ministers on the emergent COVID-19 situation in the country, Modi said he wanted to flag the challenges being faced by the people due to the war.

"The situation of war which has arisen, has affected the supply chain, and in such an environment, the challenges are increasing day by day," Modi said in an apparent reference to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

"This global crisis is bringing many challenges. In such a situation, it has become imperative to further enhance the spirit of cooperative federalism and coordination between the Centre and states," he said.