Centre Advocates GST for Fuel, Congress Discrepancy

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the Union government wants to bring petrol and diesel under the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), but the Congress is adopting “double standards” on the issue.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and the central government have been in favour of bringing petroleum products under the GST regime from the beginning as it will benefit the people, she told reporters here.

“Who are the people who are stopping petrol and diesel from being brought under GST? If Priyanka is in favor of bringing petrol and diesel under GST, she should ask every state government of Congress to agree to it in the GST Council,” the minister said. The media should question the Congress on its “double standards”, she added.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been targeting the BJP governments at the Centre and in Madhya Pradesh over inflation during her campaign rallies ahead of November 17 assembly elections in the state. Asked about the impact of the Israel-Hamas war on the country’s economy, the finance minister said, “Ever since the Russia-Ukraine war started, there has been continuous speculation about crude oil prices and we have been dealing with it. You must be aware that we have imported cheap crude oil from Russia. Whether it is the Russia-Ukraine war or Israel-Hamas war, whenever there is war in the world, there is a possibility of an impact on crude oil prices. We have already been closely monitoring the situation,” Sitharaman added.

The government has been taking steps to control the rise in the prices of tomatoes, flour, pulses and other items of daily need for a long time, she said while pointing out that food inflation was above 10 per cent for 22 months under the Congress government and it could not do anything to control it.