The price of premium petrol crossed the Rs 100 mark in Bhopal on Saturday, leading to some older fuel stations facing issues as they lacked three-digit displays.
The Congress launched an attack on both the central and state governments, accusing them of misleading people over fuel prices and pushing them towards economic destruction. The party has also talked of intensifying agitation against the constantly rising prices.
However, the MP Petrol Pump Owners’ Association, while confirming the rate of premium petrol in Bhopal at Rs 100.04 per litre, said that only 3-4 per cent of the fuel stations used the old machines and they too had alternatives available, so sales was not affected. In addition, premium petrol sales constituted only 0.5 per cent of total petrol sales in the state, the Association president, Ajay Singh, told THE WEEK.
Normal petrol was being sold at Rs 96.37 and diesel at Rs 86.84 per litre on Saturday, Singh confirmed. He said that the rise of crude prices in the international market has caused the rise in domestic fuel prices. Prices saw a rise for the sixth time since the February 1 union budget and for the 17th time since January 1, sources said. Petrol prices went up by around Rs 1.90 per litre while diesel went up by around Rs 2 per litre in the duration.
Madhya Pradesh levies the highest fuel taxes among all states in the country and the fuel prices in the state thus are amongst highest in the country. MP levies tax and cess of 39 per cent on petrol and 28 per cent on diesel. The central taxes are around Rs 31 per litre for petrol and Rs 23 per litre for diesel, sources said.
The Bhopal unit of Youth Congress staged a demonstration at petrol pump, with office bearers posing with a cricket helmet and a bat to indicate hitting of a century (of fuel price).
State Congress media cell vice-chairman Bhupendra Gupta said that while announcing the agriculture cess on fuel during the presentation of union budget, the central government assured in the parliament that this won’t affect fuel prices, but fuel prices have been hiked multiple times since then and even normal petrol is close to crossing Rs 100 mark.
Gupta said that the union government was constantly misleading the people over fuel prices and even their excuse of increase in price of crude in the international market was nothing but lies as they claim to have decreased the excise duty and this should lead to fall of prices.
Gupta claimed that the RSS ideologue Guruji Golwalkar had written in his book that the people should be pushed to that level of poverty where they should consider getting food to eat as a blessing. “This is what the BJP is aiming to do,” Gupta said.
On Friday, ex-minister and media cell chief Jitu Patwari had also said that the Congress will intensify its agitation against the fuel price hike.
State medical education minister Vishvas Sarang has said that the Congress should tell what it did to reduce fuel prices during its 15-month tenure in the state, rather than making baseless allegations.