Fuel Price Hike: Karnataka Government Raises Petrol And Diesel Prices, BJP Fumes

The Congress-led Karnataka government on Saturday announced an increase in petrol and diesel prices. The decision is a result of a change in the sales tax imposed on petroleum products by the state government.

Karnataka Hiked Petrol Diesel Prices: What comes as a post-election shocker for the people of Karnataka, the petrol and diesel prices in the southern state have increased following the revised sales tax on Saturday. As per a gazette notification, the Karnataka Government has revised the sales tax on fuel – petrol by 29.84 percent and diesel by 18.44 percent. The prices of petrol and diesel are expected to go up by Rs 3 and Rs 3.05 in the state, news agency ANI reported citing the Petroleum Dealers Association. Registering strong opposition to the fuel price hike, the BJP leaders state that there is no surprise if the Congress impose a tax on breathing air.

Opposing the fuel price hike in the state, BJP leader and MLA from Karkala V Sunil Kumar stated that the Congress-led state government is looting people. “By ordering a hike in petrol cess, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is aiming to fill up the state’s empty coffers. The government is extorting revenue from people in all possible ways, and despite this, the government is falling short in revenue collection. In this year’s tax collection, the State Government has fallen short of Rs 13,000 crore and to cope with this, it is burdening the common people,” Kumar said.

Kumar, who is also General Secretary of BJP’s Karnataka wing, said that state government has increased fee of medical education, threatening a statewide protest.

“Even when the cess was brought down in BJP-ruled states, the Congress kept mum. The government has increased the fee of medical education along with others by 10%… it has now hiked petrol and diesel rates. This will lead to state wide protests. It will be no wonder, if the Congress government impose a tax on people for breathing,” Kumar said.

State BJP president BY Vijayendra also reacted on the fuel price hike and threatened to launch a state wide protest on June 17.
Vijayendra said that the fuel price hike will impact the people and create a big hole in their pockets. “It is the misfortune of people. Congress has fooled and misled people with their five guarantee schemes just to come back to power,” he said.

R Ashoka, the Assembly’s Opposition Leader, has charged the Congress-led government with exacting punishment on voters who sided with BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. Notably, he decried the State Government’s handling of the state’s finance, accusing it of adopting unfeasible promises which have depleted the coffers. Ishoka alleges that Siddaramaiah is making attempts to normalize the treasury by shouldering Karnataka’s citizens with additional taxes.

In Bengaluru, there’s been a hike in petrol prices, with an increase of Rs 3, pushing the new price to Rs 102.84 per litre from the former Rs 99.84. Similarly, diesel hasn’t been spared either. Its price has surged by Rs 3.02, making it costlier at Rs 88.95 per litre, quite a leap from its previous price of Rs 85.93.
Karnataka’s Finance Department has made a move, with an aim to generate additional revenue for the state.