The Congress party has been critical of the Indian government on the recent hike in excise duty on petrol and diesel, blaming the government of "looting" the public. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh has also called for the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to audit how government policies have helped private companies in the oil industry.
The petrol excise duty has risen by 357% from Rs 9.20 in 2014 to Rs 19.90, while the excise duty on diesel has shot up by 54% from Rs 3.46 to Rs 15.80, Ramesh said. The government has received a whopping Rs 39.54 lakh crore from the petroleum sector during the last eleven years but has not given any relief to the people.
Ramesh said that even as crude oil prices fell to $65.31 per barrel, a 40% fall from the May 2014 price of $108 per barrel, petrol and diesel prices are still higher than in the UPA regime. Petrol prices have gone up from Rs 71.41 per liter to Rs 94.77 per liter in Delhi, and diesel prices have gone up from Rs 55.49 per liter to Rs 87.67 per liter.
The Congress party wants the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe whether any collusion or wilful negligence was done on the part of the government in increasing the excise duty. Ramesh stressed that accountability is required, as public money needs to be accounted for.
Major Demands by Congress:
CAG Audit: Conduct an audit to know how government policies have profited private oil firms.
CVC and CBI Inquiry: Probe accusations of willful negligence or connivance behind the government's excise duty hike decision.
Accountability: Correct accountability for the government action so that the public money is accounted for.
Congress party's accusation follows when Rahul Gandhi targeted the government with charging people yet another "gift" of "government loot" as the price of inflation went up. Excise duty on petrol and diesel has been hiked by the government by Rs 2 a liter each to the new price level of Rs 13 per liter for petrol and Rs 10 a liter for diesel ¹.