PM "Should Feel Ashamed": Chief Ministers Push Back After Fuel Tax Attack
NDTV
This comes after PM Modi a day earlier urged the opposition Chief Ministers to reduce VAT (Value Added Tax) on petrol and diesel to help the common man.
Stung by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's put-down on live telecast yesterday, over states not cutting taxes to bring down petrol and diesel prices, opposition Chief Ministers are pushing back using sharp words in an escalating row with the Centre.
Flagging higher fuel prices in many opposition-ruled states during a meeting on Covid, PM Modi called it "injustice" and urged the Chief Ministers to reduce VAT (Value Added Tax) on petrol and diesel to help the common man. He said many states had not agreed to the Centre's call for reducing VAT after his government slashed excise duties in November and named Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu.
The Prime Minister "should feel ashamed" to ask states to cut taxes, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao said today, asserting that there had been no hike in fuel tax since 2015 in his state.
"Why can't the centre cut taxes instead of asking states? The Centre has not only enhanced taxes, it also collects cess. If you have the guts, explain the enhanced taxes," Mr Rao, popularly known as KCR, said.
