In a recent statement, made by Pradesh Congress Committee president Jairam Ramesh, he reflected that the Central government took a step to cut fuel prices just before the highly-awaited Lok Sabha elections, which was a result of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra the effectiveness of which is supposed to be apparent.
As reported by the Union Petroleum Ministry on Thursday, petrol and diesel prices dropped by Rs 2 per liter starting yesterday, March 15, at exactly 6 am.
The ministry has cited the reduction of import duties to increase consumer spending apart from helping cut down fuel and operational expenses for a massive fleet of diesel operated over 58 lakh heavy goods vehicles, 6 crore cars and 27 crore two-wheelers.
While talking to the reporters in Palghar, Maharashtra, Jairam Ramesh said that
the decision to reduce petrol and diesel prices by Rs. 2 is a very good step, and Bharat Jodo Yatra is undoubtedly making the same impact.
The case was not the first time senior Congress leader P Chidambaram had taken indirect shots at the Centre. He recalled an earlier time when Prime Minister Modi had announced a Rs 100 reduction in LPG cylinder prices.
“This week, I indicated in the media that I thought petrol and diesel prices would come down, and I have announced today that those reductions have been made”
Said Chidambaram in his tweet.
Further, the question of government malafides arose: would the prices remain the same after the elections if BJP were to win, or would farmers be victimized again in the proposed legislation? Chidambaram referred to the BJP government for the ILP cylinder price raise, which earlier was Rs. 700 but was reduced to Rs. 100 on the eve of the elections.
It so happened that the much-awaited reduction in the petrol and diesel prices came only less than a week following the prime minister’s announcement of the Rs 100 cut in the LPG cylinder prices on International Women’s Day, March 8. When Modi put this issue as a primary one, he emphasized that reducing the domestic function of electricity by 6 percent would greatly impact household finances nationwide, which is particularly essential for women.
The opposition political party opposed the LPG price cut immediately, and party leaders questioned the decision as it was an off-season time. During the election campaign, the NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule reportedly stated that the promise was a tricky one and called it a ‘jumla’ (empty promise). TMC MP Saket Gokhale stated that the timing of the hike and the price drop for the past seven months since the COVID crisis indicated that there were intentions of a political nature.
