Harish Rao asks Revanth Reddy to slash VAT on petrol and diesel

BRS leader T Harish Rao urged Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to reduce VAT on petrol and diesel, alleging that rising fuel prices were burdening people. He claimed the Telangana government was earning higher revenues through increased fuel taxes while people struggled with inflation

Hyderabad: Former Minister and BRS Deputy Floor Leader T Harish Rao has urged Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to reduce VAT on petrol and diesel to provide relief to people, citing hardships caused by rising prices and the increasing cost of living.

In an open letter addressed to the Chief Minister on Monday, he said the Congress government had failed to provide relief to people despite repeatedly promising a reduction in fuel prices before the elections. The poor, middle class, farmers, transport operators, small traders and salaried employees were facing severe financial pressure due to the continuous increase in petrol and diesel prices, he stressed.

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Harish Rao pointed out that petrol was costing Rs 115.62 per litre and diesel Rs 103.76 per litre in Hyderabad. Repeated fuel price hikes across the country had also resulted in massive additional VAT collections for the Telangana government, he said. According to the calculations mentioned in the letter, Telangana was expected to receive nearly Rs 2,000 crore in additional VAT revenue annually because VAT was imposed as a percentage of fuel prices. The BRS Deputy Floor Leader alleged that while people were suffering due to inflation and rising household expenses, the government was earning huge revenues through higher fuel taxes.

Harish Rao also reminded the Revanth Reddy that while serving as TPCC president, he had strongly criticised the previous BRS government over VAT on fuel and promised relief to people by reducing taxes. However, after coming to power, the Congress government had not reduced VAT even by 0.1 per cent, he stressed. “The Congress government should immediately reduce VAT on petrol and diesel by at least 10 per cent and provide relief to the people,” Harish Rao demanded.

A copy of the letter was also addressed to Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, requesting him to advise the Telangana Chief Minister to fulfil the promises made by the Congress party on reducing VAT on petrol and diesel.