Govt decontrols petro product prices
PTI
NEW DELHI, JUNE 25
In a politically sensitive move, the government today hiked prices of petrol by Rs 3.50 a litre and diesel by Rs 2 a litre, raised cooking gas prices by Rs 35 a cylinder and the poor man’s cooking fuel kerosene by Rs 3 a litre.
Petrol prices will be decontrolled from midnight tonight leading to Rs 3.50 a litre hike in rates in Delhi and diesel rates will be linked to market prices in stages, Oil Secretary S Sundareshan said after a meeting of an Empowered Group of Ministers chaired by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
“For the present, an increase of Rs 2 per litre in diesel prices has been approved,” he said.
Prior to the hike, petrol in Delhi cost Rs 47.93 a litre and diesel Rs 38.10 per litre.
The government is decontrolling petrol prices after a gap of six years and together with increase in diesel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene rates, the move would lead to a 0.9 percentage points surge in inflation.
Opposition parties launched a scathing attack on the government for the unpopular decision, saying it would hit hard the masses already reeling under soaring prices.
Sources said Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told the EGoM that the decisions should not be rolled back.
However, some allies, including Trinamool leader and Union Cabinet Minister Mamata Banerjee, who stayed away from the EGoM meeting, demanded a roll-back of the hike that would lead to an inflation spiral.
“The important thing is that the government will continue to subsidise common man’s cooking fuels – LPG and kerosene,” Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said while emphatically stating that none of the members present at the EGoM gave a dissenting note.
Sources said Dravida Munetra Kazagham leader M K Alagiri, whose party voiced opposition to the move after the decision, had brought a paper outlining his party’s reservations on the move but did not circulate it.
“I know Banerjee is in town but I don’t know why he did not attending the meeting,” Deora said. “All others were very cooperative. and Fertilizer Minister M K Alagiri and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar were in agreement with these decisions.”
