New Delhi, Oct 22 (UNI) Commuters in the Capital had a tough time on Monday due to a strike called by petrol and CNG stations demanding a cut in Value Added Tax on prices of diesel and petrol by the Arvind Kejriwal government..
Petrol pumps were deserted owing to the closure of 400 petrol pumps across the Capital following the strike called by the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association.
Petrol pumps are on strike till Tuesday morning.
Auto and taxis unions had also called a day-long strike to protest against the Kejriwal government's policies on cab aggregators, including Uber and Ola and the Centre’s rule on speed governors.
All 400 petrol pumps along with linked Compressed Natural Gas dispensing units began their complete shutdown for 24 hours in protest against the Delhi government’s refusal to reduce VAT on prices of diesel and petrol in capital .
There are about 400 petrol pumps in Delhi which also have linked CNG pumps with them.The shutdown was from 0600 hrs till 0500 hrs tomorrow.
The other side:
'On September 4, the central government had slashed the rate of petrol and diesel by Rs 2.50 per litre each. This was followed by reduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) 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 it becoming more expensive than bordering Haryana and Uttar Pradesh,' said Mr Nischal Singhania , President, Delhi Petrol Dealers Association.
"Due to higher VAT in Delhi than neighbouring states, including Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, vehicle owners particularly truck and bus fleet owners deserting the petrol pumps in Delhi leading to huge drop in sales. Delhi being a small region and having too many borders nearby. Delhiites, including people travelling for jobs, in Gurugram and Noida get their vehicles topped from these states due to fuel being cheaper than Delhi in these states,' he said.
'Due to difference in prices there has been a sharp drop of 50 per cent to 60 per cent in sale of diesel in Delhi and 25 per cent in petrol in this quarter.
'Till tomorrow morning, all the 400 pumps of Delhi will neither purchase nor sell petrol, diesel and CNG in protest for reduction of VAT on petrol and diesel in Delhi. This festival time is peak season for our sale due to social travelling by residents of Delhi, ' he said.
DPDA has urged the Delhi Government to immediately reduce VAT on petrol and diesel and encourage commuters to buy Euro VI fuel and save the livelihoods of employees and owners of petrol pumps of Delhi and also save state’s revenue loss.
Deserted bunks:
At a fuel station in uptown Janpath, people had to return empty handed after they were apprised about the strike.
A commuter, Subash, who uses his scooty for his daily work, said that the issue of VAT should be solved through dialogue between Centre and the Kejriwal Government.
Autos and taxis were seen standing in queues owing to the strike.
Business is down. Since morning taxis are standing in queues, one taxi driver remarked.
Dinesh Kumar, the manager of a fuel station, said though the strike has brought to a halt the daily sale as compared to other days , they are abiding by the DPDA’s call for the agitation.
He said that on daily basis, the pump sells around 14,000 litres of fuel per day which has totally collapsed today.
Questioned about Mr Kejriwal’s statement that petrol pumps owners were threatened to observe strike by the BJP, he debunked the statement and denied any pressure.
The strike affected public in a large way as taxis and auto rickshaws were also not plying on the city roads to protest against the Kejriwal Government policies on cab aggregators.
Blame game:
Commenting on the closure of 400 petrol pumps across the city following the strike called by the DPDA, Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party chief Manoj Tiwari reaffirmed his demand that the AAP Government should slash VAT on diesel and petrol.
Repeating his demand to give relief of Rs 5 per litre by slashing VAT on the price of petrol-diesel, Mr Tiwari asserted that out of 400 hundred pumps in Delhi NCR, 100 were on the brink of closure.
“Why is the Chief Minister not giving relief to the people of Delhi? He should awake from deep slumber and decrease the price of diesel and petrol by reducing VAT,” Mr Tiwari told reporters here.
He said the Centre had reduced the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 2.5 per litre and all the BJP-ruled states have also decreased price about Rs 2.5 per litre. 'But Delhi Government has not decreased VAT. This is betrayal with the people of Delhi,' he alleged.
Earlier in the day, Mr Kejriwal alleged that the BJP had threatened petrol pump owners that if they do not go for strike, there will be Income Tax raids on them.
The Chief Minister alleged that oil companies have also threatened to take strict action against those petrol pumps who not go for strike.
Taking to micro-blogging site, Twitter, Mr Kejriwal said, 'BJP has threatened the petrol people that if they do not go on strike today, Income Tax raids will be carried out on them. Oil Companies have also threatened to take strict action against those who won’t follow the strike. BJP stop disturbing people of Delhi.'
The Chief Minister also alleged that in the past four years, the Modi Government had imposed additional tax on petrol.
'Modiji reduce tax and give relief to the people. We demand that petrol and diesel be brought under the purview of GST. Why is the government not bringing petrol, diesel under Goods and Service Tax?,' Mr Kejriwal said.
Asserting that oil prices in Delhi were lowest among the metros, Mr Kejriwal said, 'Why aren’t petrol pumps in Mumbai, which has highest prices, on strike? Because Mumbai has a BJP Government and BJP is behind today’s strike in Delhi. BJP must apologise to the people of Delhi.'
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