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The retail price of petrol and diesel surged in the country on the back of a recovery in international crude oil prices. Petrol sold at ₹ 83.13 a litre in the national capital on Saturday after rising in 13 consecutive hikes over the last fortnight. Diesel retailed at ₹ 73.32 a litre.
Over 16 days, the price of petrol has risen by ₹ 2.07 a litre and diesel has been hiked by ₹ 2.86 a litre by oil marketing companies.
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Petrol price at 2-year high of Rs 83 per litre
Diesel prices recorded at 73.32On Saturday alone, petrol price was raised by 27 paise per litre and diesel by 25 paise. These hikes are in tandem with increasing crude oil prices in the international market.
The price of Brent crude, a commonly accepted benchmark, has been up by $ 10 a barrel during November 2020 alone. This rise is on the back of optimism that a successful COVID-19 vaccine administration program would soon help bring back economic growth.
Opposition seeks rollback of excise duty hikes
Urging the centre to put a reign on the rising price of auto fuels, Randeep Singh Surjewala, General Secretary, All India Congress Committee said that the centre should roll back the excise duty hikes. He said, “The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) Government is fleecing the people by not just raising fuel rates on daily basis but also refusing to share benefits of lower crude with the people.”
“Indian National Congress demands the complete roll back of the Excise Duty hike effected by the Narendra Modi Government on Petrol and Diesel during the COVID-19 period. Similarly, the Indian Oil Corporation has recently increased the prices of non-subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders by ₹ 50,” Surjewala said.
“The repeated and unjust increase in the prices as also the Central Excise Duty on Petrol and Diesel has inflicted insurmountable pain and suffering on the people of India…In May, 2014 (when BJP assumed power), Excise Duty on Petrol was ₹ 9.20 per litre and on Diesel was ₹ 3.46 per litre. In the last six years, Union BJP Government has increased the Excise Duty on Petrol by an additional ₹ 23.78 per litre and on Diesel by an additional ₹ 28.37 per litre. This is a shocking 820 per cent hike in Excise Duty on Diesel and 258 per cent increase in Excise Duty on Petrol,” he said.
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