Some states did not reduce local taxes on petrol, diesel despite Centre's excise duty cut: PM Modi
New Delhi(PTI): Coming down hard on Opposition-ruled states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said some states did not reduce VAT on petrol and diesel despite the excise duty cut by the Centre last November and had done "injustice" to the people by not transferring the benefits of the move to them.
Speaking at an interaction with chief ministers on the emerging COVID-19 situation in the country, Modi said he wanted to flag a separate issue of the challenges being faced by the people due to the global situation.
"The situation of war which has arisen, has affected the supply chain, and in such an environment, the challenges are increasing day by day," Modi said in an apparent reference to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
"This global crisis is bringing many challenges. In such a situation, it has become imperative to further enhance the spirit of cooperative federalism and coordination between the Centre and states," he said.
Flagging the issue of high prices of petrol and diesel, Modi said the Centre had reduced excise duty to reduce the burden of prices of petrol and diesel on the people last November.
He said the Centre had urged states to reduce taxes and transfer the benefit to the citizens.
"Some states reduced taxes but some states did not give any benefit of this to the people. Due to this, the prices of petrol and diesel in these states continue to remain high. In a way, this is not only injustice to the people of these states but it also has an impact on neighbouring states," he said.
Many states such as Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu for some reason or the other did not listen to the central government and the citizens of those states continued to be burdened, he said.
"I request that what should have been done in November, you should pass on the benefit to the citizens by reducing VAT," Modi said.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
