Govt has not yet thought about further cut in fuel tax: CM Bommai
Bengaluru, May 28: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said the government has not yet thought about further cut in fuel tax, following the Centre's recent decision to reduce excise duty on petrol and diesel.
Bowing to public pressure, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 21 had announced a Rs 8 per litre cut in excise duty on petrol and Rs 6 a litre on diesel to avoid increase in fuel prices that were necessitated due to surge in international oil prices.
Also, the Central government had decided to give Rs 200 per cylinder subsidy to Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries for 12 cylinders in a year to help ease some of the burden arising from cooking gas rates rising to record levels.
"No we have not yet thought about it...," Bommai said in response to a question on whether the state government has thought about any cut in fuel prices, following the Centre's decision.
Ahead of leaving for the Swiss ski resort town of Davos, to take part in the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting, Bommai on May 22 had said, his government will consider a further cut in fuel tax, following the Centre's decision.
He had earlier maintained that any decision in this regard will be taken after looking at the economy of the state.
The Chief Minister returned from Davos on Friday.
In November 2021, the state government had cut sales tax on petrol from 35 per cent to 25.9 per cent and on diesel from 24 per cent to 14.34 per cent, which resulted in petrol price reducing by Rs 13.30 per litre and diesel by Rs 19.47 per litre.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
