Bhubaneswar, March 27 The opposition BJD in Odisha demanded on Friday that the state's BJP government reduce the VAT rate on petrol and diesel, asserting that reducing the central excise duty on fuel is not enough to alleviate the suffering of the people.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) also said that it is unclear whether consumers will benefit from the central government's decision to reduce the excise duty.
The Centre has reduced excise duty on petrol to Rs 3 per litre and has exempted diesel completely, to help oil marketing companies like HPCL, BPCL, and IOC deal with rising global crude prices amid the war in the Middle East.
Addressing a press conference here, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said, "Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has welcomed the Centre's reduction of excise duty by Rs 10 on petrol and diesel. However, it is unclear whether the consumer will benefit from it."
He asserted that the VAT rate imposed in Odisha is one of the highest in the country.
The BJD leader claimed that the Odisha government imposes 28 per cent VAT on fuel while it is 25 per cent in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, and 19 per cent in Rajasthan.
"If the chief minister is keen to provide relief to people on the purchase of petrol, diesel, and cooking gas, then he should reduce the VAT imposed by the state government. When the BJP was in the opposition in the state, it had repeatedly demanded a reduction in VAT on petrol, diesel, and cooking gas," Mohanty said.
Therefore, instead of just welcoming the reduction in excise rates made by the Centre, Majhi should reduce VAT in the interest of the people of the state, he said.
The BJD leader said that there is doubt in the minds of people on the availability of petrol, diesel, and cooking gas in the state due to the ongoing conflict between Israel, America, and Iran.
"Though the government is claiming that there is no crisis in India and also in Odisha, it has not cleared the doubt of people who stand in queues to avail an LPG cylinder. It is not yet clear in what context the excise rates have been reduced by the Centre," Mohanty said.
The BJD leader feared that the excise rate might have been reduced, keeping in view the possibility of fuel prices rising.
"It is suspected that the government has probably reduced the excise rates earlier to avoid public anger in case of price rise," he said.
Earlier on the day, Majhi, in a post on X, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for reducing Rs 10 per litre in central excise duty on petrol and diesel for domestic consumption and appealed to citizens to maintain calm amid the evolving global situation in the wake of the West Asia crisis.