CPI(M) today accused the Centre of adopting "selfish" approach in imposing successive hikes in excise duty on fuel to collect revenue when petrol and diesel prices are falling globally, and asked it to roll back the same in public interest before the Union budget is presented.
"At a time when food prices are on the upswing and when two successive years of drought will further put pressure on consumer food prices, government's selfish approach of garnering (the advantage of) the fall in global oil prices is anti-people and short-sighted," former CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said.
He said, "Before the Union budget is placed, there should be a strong demand that the successive hikes in excise duties on petrol and diesel be withdrawn and the government finds other ways to raise revenues."
In an editorial in the forthcoming issue of party mouthpiece 'People's Democracy', Karat said the government hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel nine times since November 2014.
This, he said, "resulted" in increase in tax levied on petrol and diesel by Rs 11.77 and Rs 13.37 per litre respectively.
He said the approach benefited both public sector and private oil companies and also the government, which he added, sought to increase its revenue through taxation to bridge budgetary deficit.
"If the retail prices of petrol and diesel had fallen in tune with the global prices, it would have helped dampen inflation and price rise. This would have brought down transportation cost and would have had its impact on prices of essential commodities including food items," he said.
Accusing successive governments of handing over tax exemptions to the corporate sector, he also suggested to the Centre to do away with such concessions to raise revenue and bridge fiscal deficit.
