K Sudhakaran | Photo: PTI
Thiruvananthapuram: KPCC president and MP K Sudhakaran said that the LDF should cut tax instead of protesting against fuel price hike. The people will reject their protests as the fuel tax remain unchanged despite the price hike, he added.
When the fuel price crossed Rs 100 per litre, the state government gets Rs 22.71 and the central government earns Rs 32.90. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan are looting the public in a competitive manner. They focus on improving the earnings instead of helping the public, he said.
The former UDF government had reduced tax worth Rs 619.17 crore due to continuous fuel price hike. Rajasthan, Assam, Meghalaya and West Bengal also cut the tax. But Pinarayi-led government refuses to see this. If fuel price is included in GST, the tax will drop. But they fail to do that also, Sudhakaran pointed out.
During the UPA government's tenure, subsidy was allowed to control fuel price. In 2008, when crude oil price was 145.31 Dollars, petrol price was at Rs 50.62 and diesel price at Rs 34.86 in the country. Now, crude oil price is 74 Dollars in international market, but the fuel price remains the same, he added.