The North News
New Delhi, March 24
BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Tuesday demanded that the Himachal Pradesh government withdraw the newly imposed Rs 5 per litre cess on petrol and diesel, alleging the Congress-led administration was placing an unfair financial burden on the public. Thakur said the move, along with earlier VAT hikes on fuel, would extract more than Rs 1,000 crore annually from people in the state.
His remarks came a day after the Himachal Pradesh Assembly passed an amendment to the VAT law, clearing the way for an “orphan and widow” cess of up to Rs 5 per litre on petrol and high-speed diesel. The bill was passed amid a walkout by the opposition BJP. The state government has said the cess is intended to create a dedicated and stable source of funding for welfare measures aimed at widows and orphaned children.
Speaking to reporters in Parliament House, Thakur accused the Congress government of repeatedly increasing the burden on ordinary people through taxes and fuel price hikes.
He also targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying the party’s much-publicised “khatakhat” model of governance had left Himachal Pradesh in financial distress.
“Before the Assembly elections, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi came to Himachal with a ‘khatakhat’ model. But it has turned out to be such a flawed model that the condition of Himachal has deteriorated badly,” Thakur said.
The Hamirpur MP alleged that VAT on diesel had been increased in phases soon after the Congress came to power and said the new cess was an additional blow to consumers.
He claimed traders, taxi drivers, truck operators, farmers and ordinary households would all be affected, warning that higher fuel costs would eventually push up inflation across sectors.
Thakur also alleged that the state’s debt had crossed Rs 1.04 lakh crore and accused the government of mismanaging finances, citing delays in salary payments to employees and rising expenditure on political appointments.
He said the BJP opposed the fuel cess and demanded that it be rolled back to reduce the burden on the people of Himachal Pradesh.
With PTI Inputs
