With a fall in international crude oil prices, BJP today demanded that the retail price of petrol and diesel be reduced by Rs five and Rs three respectively.
"BJP demands that government should immediately lower prices of petrol and diesel by Rs five and Rs three respectively, as the international prices of crude oil have fallen from $140 to $105 per barrel since the past two weeks," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters.
Noting that when the government increased domestic oil prices a few months ago it gave increase in international prices as the reason for the hike, Javadekar said, "Now that global prices of oil are falling the benefit should be passed on to the consumer."
The BJP MP said Petroleum Minister Murli Deora's argument that petroleum prices could not be decreased due to "under-recovery" were a "fallacy" and the consumer could not be made to suffer.
"Just as Air Turbine Fuel prices have been decreased, the petrol and diesel prices should also be cut down," he said.