No question of rollback of fuel price deregulation: Oil Minister
New Delhi, June 6: Sternly ruling out any rollback of deregulation of fuel prices, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday said despite having the burden of repaying oil bonds, the government will take full responsibility of keeping fuel prices in check and ensuring they don't go out of reach of the common man.
Addressing a press conference here, Pradhan reiterated that the government was working on a long-term solution to address oil price fluctuations while taking a holistic view of all factors.
He said there was a greater conducive environment to bring petroleum products under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), however adding that the GST Council would have to take a call on that.
"I stand by my statement: the government will take a holistic view. There are three major factors for oil price hike -- geopolitics leading to fluctuation in international crude oil prices, exchange rate fluctuation between dollar and Indian currency, and taxation structure of our country where some taxes are imposed by state governments and (Centre imposes) excise duty," Pradhan said.
"Taking into account all this and while ensuring that India's poor and middle classes do not have to bear the pinch (due to oil prices), the government will take all necessary steps."
Asked if as part of the "long-term plan" to deal with rising fuel prices, the government was considering partial rollback of deregulation, Pradhan said: "That question doesn't arise. It is a reformist government. We cannot go back on reforms."
The Minister said that while reduction in petrol and diesel prices had started, albeit due to international developments, the government is "sensitive and committed towards interests of poor and middle classes".
"No one can predict oil price fluctuations, but I assure (you) that taking into account all factors -- and despite there being some factors beyond our control -- the government will handle this issue with complete sensitivity and will take responsibility for it," he said.
Terming "unfair" the comparisons of fuel prices during the UPA regime -- when crude prices were skyrocketing -- with the current government, Pradhan said inflation was responsible for high prices.
"Inflation has increased significantly and that's why high fuel prices. But we will ensure the prices don't go so high that they get out of the reach of the poor and middle classes."
Referring to Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's comments that there was a room for cutting oil prices by as much as Rs 25 per litre, he said: "In the name of oil bonds (issued to oil companies for subsidising fuel), a huge burden has been left by the previous government on the current government. We never complained and are paying off those bonds."
About the possibility of bringing transportation fuel under the new indirect tax regime, the Minister said while GST is imposed on all the processes of the oil sector -- production, pipeline and refineries -- but there is no GST on the finished goods.
"Hence we are not able to realise it (claim input tax credit). That's why petroleum products should be brought under GST," he said, adding that the GST Council is responsible for the same.
"However, while interacting with Chief Ministers, I am getting more and more positive vibes and I feel that it will be brought under GST soon. The reservations related to the new tax regime are going away after its successful implementation," Pradhan said.
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59 percent voter turnout in first phase in J-K, polling peaceful: CEO
Jammu, Sep 18: A voter turnout of about 59 percent -- "the highest in the past seven elections" -- was recorded in the first phase of assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, Chief Electoral Officer P K Pole said.
However, these are tentative figures and may rise after the final reports are received about postal ballots, and from remote pockets like Marwah, Wadwan, Dachhan and Machail in Kishtwar, the officer said.
Briefing mediapersons here after polling ended at 6 pm, Pole said the elections -- which covered 24 seats in seven districts -- ended peacefully without any untoward incident.
There are reports of some minor incidents of scuffle or argument from a few polling stations but "no serious incident" occurred that could have forced a repoll, he said.
Over 2.3 million voters were eligible to cast the ballot to determine the fate of 219 candidates, including 90 Independents.
"The polling percentage of 59 percent is highest in the past seven elections -- four Lok Sabha polls and three assembly elections," he said, attributing the increase in the voter turnout to various factors including improved security situation, active participation of political parties and candidates and a campaign by the department.
He said Kishtwar district recorded the highest 77 percent turnout, while Pulwama district witnessed the lowest 46 percent.
Doda district recorded a turnout of 69.33 percent, Ramban district 67.71 percent, Kulgam district 61.57 percent, Anantnag district 54.17 percent and Shopian district 53.64 percent.
In the 2014 assembly elections, the district wise poll percentage was: Pulwama 44 percent, Shopian 48 percent, Kulgam 59 percent, Anantnag 60 percent, Ramban 70 percent, Doda 73 percent and Kishtwar 76 percent.
In Kishtwar districts, he said, the Padder-Nagseni segment recorded the highest 80.67 percent voting followed by Inderwal (80.06 percent) and Kishtwar (78.11 percent).
In the nearby Doda district, Doda west segment recorded 75.98 percent, Doda (70.21 percent) and Bhaderwah (65.27 percent).
In Ramban district, Banihal segment recorded 71.28 percent and Ramban 67.34 percent, he said.
Among the seven constituencies of Anantnag district, Pahalgam recorded the highest voter turnout at 67.86 percent, followed by Kokernag (58 percent), Dooru (57.90 percent), Srigufwara-Bijbehara (56.02 percent), Shangus-Anantnag (52.94 percent), Anantnag West (45.93 percent) and Anantnag 41.58 percent, Pole said.
In Pulwama district, the CEO said, the Pulwama segment witnessed 50.42 percent polling, followed by Rajpora 48.07 percent, Pampore 44.74 percent and Tral 43.21 percent.
In Shopian district, the Shopian segment recorded a voter turnout of 54.72 percent and Zainapora 52.64 percent.
In Kulgam district, D H Pora recorded a turnout of 68 percent, Kulgam 62.70 percent and Devsar 57.33 percent, Pole said.
He said seven districts of south Kashmir had been traditionally low poll percentage constituencies and in some of the past elections, the percentage had not even crossed the single digit.
Asked about a social media video purportedly showing a policeman losing temper and aiming his gun before being overpowered by his colleagues outside a polling station in Kishtwar, he said the district election officer and the returning officer concerned have taken note and issue was resolved amicably.
PDP and BJP candidates were involved in an argument at the polling station.
Pole expressed hope that the remaining two phases on September 25 and October 1 will also see high polling percentage.
Meanwhile, the election commission expressed satisfaction over the long queues of voters at the polling stations showcasing the entire world, the deep trust and confidence of the people of J&K in the democratic exercise.
The polling was held across 3,276 Polling Stations in the seven districts and 24 special polling stations set up for migrant pandits in Jammu, Udhampur and Delhi.
According to officials, 31.42 percent of the more than 35,000 eligible kashmiri migrant voters exercised their franchise. While 27 percent cast their votes at 19 polling stations in Jammu, 40 percent at four polling stations in Delhi and 30 percent at one polling station in Udhampur.
In each of the seven districts where voting was held in the first phase, the voter participation exceeded the participation during the Lok Sabha 2024 elections, the election commission said in a release.
The performance builds on the trend witnessed during the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir which saw a voter turnout of 58.58 percent at polling stations, highest in the last 35 years.
Voting began at 7 am and proceeded steadily through the day. Men and women, the young and old, some too frail to walk and others patiently waiting their turn, queued up outside polling booths across Kashmir Valley and Jammu.
Security forces fanned out to ensure that there was no trouble. The day was largely without incident except for reports of clashes between political workers in some areas of Bijbehara and D H Pora.
