Yashwant Sinha slams government for hike in petrol, diesel prices

Yashwant Sinha. Pic/PTI

Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday slammed the union government for the unprecedented hike in prices of petrol and diesel and expressed his anguish over the opposition parties for not hitting the streets over the issue.

"Petrol, diesel, and gas prices are rising and are hitting all-time highs daily. Why are opposition parties not hitting the streets? What are they waiting for?" Sinha, who has been critical of government's economic policies said in a tweet.

The former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader's remarks came a day after the prices of petrol and diesel, already at unprecedented levels in the country, rose for the 10th consecutive day on Tuesday. In the national capital, petrol was sold at Rs 79.15 per litre, up from Rs 78.84 on Sunday.

On September 3, petrol and diesel rates hit an all-time high in the country, despite a decline in crude prices in the global market. Petrol dealers in the city blamed a triad of issues: rupee's plunge against the dollar, the US's embargo on Iran (one of India's main suppliers of crude oil) and, finally, the main culprit - taxes. The central and state taxes alone account for more than half the price of petrol, lamented suppliers.

As petrol prices hit an all-time high, experts and stakeholders urged the government to impose a moratorium and bring petroleum products under GST regime to reduce rates.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever