Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday, 20 February, called the rising fuel price a "vexatious" issue for which there was "no answer except for fall in fuel price”.
“This is a vexatious issue in which no answer other than price cut will be able to please the public. So, whatever I say, to bring reality to the fore, people will say that I am avoiding answering. I have already said that this is a serious issue,” news agency ANI quoted Sitharaman as saying.
Sitharaman said that it was a serious and important issue and both the central and state governments should talk to provide fuel at the “appropriate level to consumers”.
“If all this is the reality, then it is the oil marketing companies who have to decide whether they have to cut the prices down or not because (technically), the oil prices have been freed, and the government has no control over it. It is the marketing companies that import the crude; refine it, distribute it and put the cost of logistics everything else," she added.
Talking about bringing petrol and diesel under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, she said that here is a need for the GST Council to thoroughly discuss the options and consult all stakeholders.
In the last 12 days, the price has gone up by Rs 3.63 per litre for petrol while the diesel rate has risen by Rs 3.84 a litre. In some cities, petrol has already crossed Rs 100-mark per litre. On Saturday, Petrol prices again rose by 39 paise, taking the rate past Rs 90 per litre in national capital. Diesel, meanwhile, was selling at Rs 80.97 per litre after a hike of 37 paise.
In Mumbai, petrol prices are just Rs 3 per litre short (Rs 97 per litre) of touching the three-digit mark of Rs 100 per litre for the very first time ever.
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