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In protest against Delhi government's refusal to reduce VAT on fuels, in the national capital, all 400-odd petrol pumps along with linked CNG dispensing units will remain shut on Monday, said the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association (DPDA) in a statement.
For nearly 24 hours (from 6 am onwards on October 22 to 5 am on October 23), all of them will remain closed in protest, it said.
DPDA president Nischal Singhania said, "The central government had slashed the rate of petrol and diesel by Rs 2.50 per litre each on September 4. This was followed by reduction of VAT (value added tax) by various states including neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, bringing relief to their residents.
"But, the Delhi government refused to reduce VAT on fuel both petrol and diesel resulting in fuel becoming more expensive than bordering Haryana and Uttar Pradesh."
In comparison to Delhi, fuel rates in bordering states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are cheaper, he said.
Because of low prices in states like UP and Haryana, customers are deserting the petrol pumps in Delhi leading to huge drop in sales, Singhania said.
There has been a sharp drop of 50-60 per cent in sale of diesel in Delhi and 25 per cent in petrol in this quarter, due to difference in prices, the DPDA president said.
"DPDA urges the Delhi government to immediately reduce VAT on petrol and diesel and encourage commuters to buy euro VI fuel and save the livelihood of employees and owners of petrol pumps of Delhi and also save state's revenue loss," the statement said.
However, commenting on the strike, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, "Oil prices lowest in Delhi amongst the four metros. Why aren’t petrol pumps in Mumbai, which has highest prices, on strike? Because Mumbai is BJP government and BJP is behind today’s strike in Delhi. BJP MUST apologize to the people of Delhi."
Hitting back, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said, "Arvind Kejriwal is taking revenge from the people of Delhi. He has not reduced even one paise on fuel."
Recently, common man got some relief from sky-rocketing fuel prices as the Modi government announced Rs 2.50 per litre cut. The Centre cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.50 per litre and asked oil firms to absorb Re 1/litre of prices. Announcing the steps during a press conference here, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also appealed state governments to reduce VAT on petrol and diesel.
WATCH VIDEO: Delhi: Around 400 petrol pumps along with linked CNG dispensing units to remain shut today
(With PTI inputs)
