A virtual interaction between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the chief ministers of various states was held today to discuss a range of topics, prominent of which were fuel prices and the COVID-19 situation in the country. During the interaction, Modi said that while the Centre had cut excise duty on petrol, seven states were yet to do so. He said that he was “just discussing” and not criticizing anyone, before naming seven states, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Jharkhand, all ruled by opposition parties.
He said that these states charge higher VAT, and thus, their residents were paying more for fuel, which he termed as “unfair”. Modi said that states should follow the Centre’s lead in cutting taxes in the “spirit of cooperative federalism”.
Modi gave the example of Karnataka and Gujarat which could have added ₹5,000 crore and ₹4,000 crore to their revenues respectively if they had not cut taxes on fuel. He said that 42 per cent of the Centre’s revenue goes to states, and amid global disruptions due to the Russia Ukraine war, the states and Centre should be in lockstep with each other.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee commented afterwards that she does not agree with the Prime Minister, and that the interaction with him was ‘one-sided’.
Interaction with PM Narendra Modi on fuel price hike was one-sided; don't agree with him: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 27, 2022
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