Following the footsteps of neighbouring Haryana andHimachal government besides keeping upcoming elections in mind, the Punjabgovernment too reduced petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10 per litre and Rs 5 per litre,respectively, to be effective from midnight today. The announcement came during a press conference in Chandigarh just minutesafter cabinet meeting.
From midnight, retail price of petrol in Punjab will beRs 96.16 per litre and for diesel will be Rs 84.80 per litre. VAT on petrol will 13.77 and on diesel will be 9.92percent.
The Punjab government had taken this decision after Centreslashed excise duty on both diesel and petrol. The petrol prices have been cutdown by Rs 5 while diesel price went down by Rs 10 across India on the eve ofDiwali. Following this, several BJP and NDA-ruled states slashed the ValueAdded Tax (VAT) on fuel prices, making them even more affordable.
The Haryana government reduced VAT on petrol and dieselon the day of Diwali i.e. November 4. “On the occasion of Diwali, the centralgovernment has announced a reduction in prices of petrol and diesel. Taking itforward, the Haryana government has also reduced the rate of VAT on petrol anddiesel in the state. Now, both petrol and diesel in entire Haryana will becheaper by Rs12 per litre," said Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khatter.
After Haryana and Himachal, all eyes were on Punjab CMCharanjit Singh Channi and finally he had today announced reduction in petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10 per litre and Rs 5 per litre,respectively,
Earlier, the members of the Punjab Petroleum DealersAssociation also threatened the Punjab government to reduce the timings ofoperating fuel stations. They said if their demands were not met by November 7,the petrol pumps in the state would operate for just 10 hours, from 7 am to 5pm, for 15 days – from November 7 to November 21.
However, the association too has called off their protest as Punjab Government in the notification sent to them had accepted their demands and reduced the VAT on fuels.
Also, with elections are due in just a few months, andopposition is gearing up to give a tough fight to ruling Congress. Meanwhile,the party has multiple challenges to overcome, like- infighting within theparty, justice in sacrilege case, cheap electricity, drugs issue and much more.