Patna: The Janata Dal United on Friday demanded that prices of petrol and diesel be slashed by Rs 10 per litre and expressed fear that the National Democratic Alliance may be unseated from power at the Centre if that is not done.
JDU spokesperson Ajay Alok said that people were facing problems due to the runaway fuel prices that are racing towards Rs 100 per litre.
"The government on account of fiscal prudence is refusing to reduce the fuel prices through tax cuts and (bringing the prices under) GST etc, but for whom we are saving this money for? If we lose elections on this ground and the Congress comes to power then it means Prime Minister Narendra Modi improved the economy in the last five years for the Congress," he said.
If the country is reeling from the impact of fuel prices it is the government's duty to respect the sentiment, he said.
"So now I think it is time to give relief to people by at least Rs 10 per litre by so that the Opposition cannot challenge us. We have to be populist at times as we are in politics to serve the people," Alok said.
"Long-term solutions like more ethanol and no diesel engine will take a long time and the need of the hour is immediate relief which can be done only by tax cuts and GST," he stressed.
He said the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was dethroned in 2004 because of a similar situation.
"From 1999 to 2004 exactly the same thing happened. He (Vajpayee) took the GDP growth to 6.2 per cent and there was an India Shining campaign but he did not reduce the petrol prices and the election was advanced by six months; the result was losing the election," Alok said.
Asked why the state government cannot slash the VAT it imposes on fuel prices to give people relief, Alok said: "Nothing will happen if only the state cuts its tax. It has to be a policy decision because you have given a free hand to petroleum companies. What is the big difference if the price is cut by Re 1 or Rs 2 by the state? It hardly makes any difference."
Senior JDU leader and national secretary general of the party K.C. Tyagi also demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi intervene to provide relief from runaway fuel prices.
"The steep increase in petroleum prices has hit the common man. I sincerely demand the intervention of the PM. There should some mechanism by which the prices of petroleum cannot increase," Tyagi told The Telegraph on Friday.
Another JDU leader and chief spokesperson of the party Sanjay Singh also said that there is a chaotic situation in the country and people are feeling the heat of the increase in the price of petroleum products.
