Saturday, Jul 2, 2022

Etela peddles untruths about Telangana govt collecting Rs 291 per gas cylinder

By Telangana Today

Published: Updated On - 03:55 PM, Mon - 11 October 21

Huzurabad: Etela Rajendar, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party recently, has now excelled in the art of peddling untruths. An art for which his party has already earned the dubious distinction.

Perhaps, stung by the fact that people were celebrating Bathukamma festival with a gas cylinder in the midst of flower-bedecked bathukammas and singing songs about the astronomical prices of gas cylinders, Etela tried an old trick. That of blaming the State government for the price hike claiming that the State government collects Rs 291 per each cylinder.

Etela Rajendar appears to be unaware that the lie has been called out many times by the media and several fact check organisations, which clarified that the claim of state governments collecting Rs 291 was an out and out lie.

And yet, Etela Rajendar chose to peddle the same untruth on Monday. Speaking at an election rally here, Etela maintained that “people were paying Rs 291 to the State Government on each cylinder. If the Government had any concern for people, let them waive Rs 291, he said arguing that reasons for the increase in gas price were both State and Central Governments. Then he contradicted himself again maintaining that gas price hike was never a point of discussion in the Huzurabad bypoll. But, if it was not so, why did he say that the government was collecting Rs 291 per cylinder?

To put the record straight, no government collects Rs 291 per cylinder. If one were to look at the gas cylinder bill, it would be clear that the Goods and Services Tax is levied on the domestic gas cylinder and both the union and state governments do not levy additional taxes on it. The LPG cylinders fall under the 5 per cent GST (CGST – 2.5 per cent and SGST – 2.5 per cent) slab.

Actually, the untruth about state government collecting Rs 291 per cylinder came into circulation in July last with a mysterious graphic being shared on social media platforms. The social media post of apocryphal origin, maintains that the central government tax was just Rs 24.75 while the State government collects Rs 291.36 paise. That it is a fake message is proved beyond doubt, and yet Etela Rajendar chose to reiterate this in his election speech. Is the Huzurabad voter so naive to believe him?

Several individual fact checkers have verified the claim as fake.

Check Here