Within six months in office, the Narendra Modi government has made a U-Turn on it's pre-election commitment of deregulating fuel prices. While international crude prices are tumbling, the excise duty has been increased in preference to passing on the full benefits to the consumers.
When crude was in the region of $118/barrel, the aam aadmi (common man) was asked to pay Rs 84/litre for petrol. Now when the international price has dropped to $62/barrel (47 per cent less) he is asked to pay Rs 71/litre (15 per cent less).
Are we to believe that we are in the era of achhe din by being made to swallow a sugar-coated bitter pill? One cannot but agree with the most charitable view expressed in one of your recent editorials "No pass through" (December 4) that "the government should stop pretending it has deregulated fuel prices."
Angelo Extross Pune
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