Mumbai, March 27 Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said the Centre's decision to reduce the special additional excise duty on petrol is a masterstroke that will provide relief to citizens.
In a post on X, Shinde accused the Opposition of instilling fear among people that the prices of fuel and diesel will increase.
"However, by reducing the excise duty, the Modi government has played a masterstroke. This will provide relief to the people," the Shiv Sena leader asserted.
The decision will help keep inflation in check, for which the Narendra Modi government must be applauded, he added.
The Union government has reduced excise duty on petrol to Rs 3 per litre and has completely exempted diesel, to help oil marketing companies like HPCL, BPCL and IOC deal with rising global crude prices amid the West Asia war.
The Union Finance Ministry, in a notification dated March 26, has reduced excise duty on petrol to Rs 3 per litre, from Rs 13 per litre earlier, while the levy on diesel has been reduced to zero from Rs 10 earlier.
