Mumbai: The state Congress president Ashok Chavan on Friday criticised the Maharashtra government for its decision to increase the surcharge on petrol, saying that there is no financial planning and the prices are on the rise.
“The rate of petrol in Maharashtra is the highest in the country. Despite the Centre’s decision to reduce the petrol prices, the state government increased the surcharge twice in last two months. The total surcharge on petrol is now Rs 11 and the Maharashtra Congress will protest against this,” Mr Chavan said.
Stating that the hike in surcharge would have a cascading effect on prices of products that are transported, Mr Chavan said the people would suffer.
“The petrol price rise will hike the prices of goods that are transported through vehicles. Ultimately, the people will suffer in the process,” Mr Chavan said.
The Congress leader’s attack comes after the state government’s decision on Wednesday to increase the surcharge on petrol by Rs 2. The state government took the decision just four weeks after it announced a price hike in petrol.
“There is no proper financial planning, and the state’s expenditure is mounting. The common man is at the receiving end because of a slew of taxes,” Mr Chavan added. He also questioned the Centre’s project of air connectivity between smaller cities.
“Only two cities in Maharashtra were selected for the intra-state connectivity. But six additional air connectivity routes were announced between Maharashtra and Gujarat. Is the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) project only for Gujarat?” Mr Chavan asked.
The Congress leader also criticised the increase in the stamp duty, saying that the construction business was already facing problems and by increasing the stamp duty, the common man is now in more trouble.
Mr Chavan even slammed the ‘Samvad Yatra’ organised by the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) to interact with the farmers.
The BJP’s announcement came after the opposition took out Sangharsha Yatra in the state to raise farmers’ issues.
“This means there was no samvad (dialogue) earlier... and who will lead it? Raosaheb Danve, the state party president, who recently made derogatory remarks against the farmers,” he added.
