Delhi, the capital of India, will witness a one day strike by 400 petrol pumps today. The strike began today at 6:00 A.M., and will last up to 5:00 A.M., tomorrow.
After Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, refused to cut the Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuels, the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association (DPDA) went on a strike for 23 hours. The citizens of Delhi will struggle to purchase diesel and petrol as 400 petrol pumps in Delhi decided not to buy fuels from oil companies for a day.
On the 4th of October, Arun Jaitley, the Union Minister, announced a cut on the excise duty imposed on fuels. The Central Government and the oil companies reduced Rs. 1.50 and Rs. 1 per litre in excise duty respectively, decreasing the amount by Rs. 2.50 per litre as a whole. In order to provide relief to the customers from the hike in fuel prices, the states were asked to reduce the VAT to help the reduction in fuel price. Almost all the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, etc., cut the prices of fuel, making it cheaper for consumers.
According to the DPDA, due to cheap fuel in cities like Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Noida, Delhi is facing a huge loss of 50 % on fuels. Apart from the monetary loss, the environment is also getting affected as the Euro VI fuel is available only in Delhi.
Nischal Singhania, the DPDA President stated, “In comparison to Delhi, petrol in UP and Haryana is cheaper by Rs. 2.59 and Rs. 1.95 per litre, respectively, while diesel in these two states is cheaper by Rs. 2.02 and Rs. 1.72 per litre, respectively.”
Arvind Kejriwal commented the strike is influenced by the BJP leaders.
Petrol pump owners hv told us privately that this is a BJP sponsored strike, actively supported by oil cos. In fact, BJP has thrust it upon petrol pump owners. People will give BJP a befitting reply in elections for continuously inconveniencing people thro their dirty politics. https://t.co/S8pLZNbIOw
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 21, 2018
According to sources, the Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti, a major auto and taxi union, might also go on a strike in order to protest against the Delhi government. Further, the support of the All India Travel and Transport Association (AITTA) encouraged the taxi drivers to go on the strike. The taxi drivers also said they will block the roads in Delhi. The agenda of the strike is to seek the attention of the Delhi Government to change its policies for cab services like Uber and Ola.
The current price of petrol in Delhi is Rs. 81.44 per litre, after a cut of 30 paise. Among the four metro cities, Delhi holds the cheapest price of petrol. The prices of petrol in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata stand at Rs. 86.91, Rs. 84.64 and Rs. 83.29 respectively.