Delhi Mahila Congress held a demonstration outside the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) office to protest against the increased central excise duty and cess on petrol and diesel, resulting in ‘back-breaking hike’ in the cost of petrol and diesel in the national Capital.

Thousands of women party workers of the Delhi Pradesh Mahila Congress (DPMC) participated in the demonstration.

DPMC president Sharmistha Mukherjee said that in the very first union budge, the Central Government inflicted a heavy burden on the common people by hiking the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 2.5 and Rs 2.3 per litre, respectively.

Calling it a ‘pocket-maar’ tax against the poor, middle class and ordinary people of India, Mukherjee slammed the Central Government, saying that the Modi Government is clearly revealing its anti-people approach from the very beginning of its second term. 

She said that while giving tax relief to corporate by bringing down income tax from 30 to 25 per cent for companies having more than Rs 400 crores annual turnover, the Modi governmnet is passing the burden of filling up its coffer by taxing the common people, especially those who use public transport and two-wheelers, small farmers who use pumps and other agro-implements run on diesel.

 Mukherjee also slammed the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for refusing to reduce ‘Value Added Tax’ (VAT) on petrol and diesel. The Delhi government has increased VAT on petroleum products twice in the last four and a half years charging 27 per cent VAT on petrol and 16.75 per cent on diesel. “The Kejriwal government is also benefiting from the additional excise duty as VAT is calculated in terms of percentage.  That is why it is silent on this issue.

She demanded an

immediate roll back of the increased excise duty on petrol and diesel by the central government and corresponding reduction in VAT by the Delhi Government.