Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, MLA, has lashed out at the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government for misleading people by making false statements with regard to the reduction of fuel taxes.
In a statement here on Sunday, Mr. Chandy said the government had not cut the taxes by even a paisa to match a reduction announced by the Union government. “When fuel prices went up during the tenure of the previous United Democratic Front (UDF) government, the increased taxes were waived off on four occasions to give the people a total relief worth ₹619.17 crore. This is what we expect from the present government as well,’‘ he said.
Attributing the increased prices of fuel to the higher rates of taxes imposed by the Union and State governments, he urged the authorities concerned to effect further cuts to bring it on par with the rates during the tenure of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
“The State government, which receives more money in terms of fuel tax than the Centre, apparently is not ready to give even the slightest relief to its people. The State’s share of income from every litre of petrol and diesel till now stood at ₹34.64 and ₹23.70 respectively,” he pointed out.
The tax cut by the Union government would lead to a proportionate reduction in the State's share of taxes for petrol and diesel by ₹2.41 and ₹1.36 (₹22.34). It, however, still received a higher share of income than the Centre, he said.
Besides Mr. Chandy, Kerala Congress working president P.C. Thomas too called for commensurate reduction in prices.
