Telangana Minister for Industries, IT and Municipal Administration K.T. Rama Rao reacted sharply to the comments of Union Minister of Petroleum, Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri made on a social media platform on petrol and diesel prices in Telangana.
Mr. Puri said: “The curious case of Telangana. Imposes one of the highest VAT on Petrol & diesel - 35.20% on petrol & 27% on diesel. State Govt has collected ₹56,020 cr as VAT from 2014 to 2021. Projected to mop up ₹13,315 cr in 2021-22. Adds up to a huge ₹69,334 cr. Where has it gone?”
In his sharp reaction, KTR asked the Union Minister whether it was not true that the price increase was solely because of additional excise duties and cess imposed by NPA (non-performing assets) Govt. “Why don’t you advise PM to scrap cess so we can give petrol at ₹70 and diesel at ₹60 (per litre) all over India and isn’t it true that ₹26.5 lakh crore was collected as cess by NPA Govt”, Mr. Rama Rao rebutted the Union Minister.
