Lucknow22 minutes agoWriter: Rajesh Sahu
There were 2 days left in the voting for the seventh phase of the UP elections, when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made a tweet on petrol. He wrote, “Get the petrol tank full immediately, the election offer of the Modi government is going to end.” Even before that, common people on social media were apprehensive of increasing the price of petrol after the elections. The debate intensified after the election results. We have investigated this entire matter. Let’s get into the full story…the story of petrol prices starts from 4th November 2021…
The next day was Diwali. On November 3, an order came from the BJP government at the Center. “From today the excise duty on petrol is reduced by Rs 5 and in diesel by Rs 10 per liter,” it said. The next day, the price of petrol in Delhi was reduced from Rs 110.04 to Rs 103.97. Diesel reduced from Rs 98.42 to Rs 86.67 a litre.
Just a day before Diwali, the central government reduced the excise duty on petrol and diesel.
This announcement of the BJP government was linked to the elections of five states including UP. It was said that this exemption is electoral. But, now the elections are over. Crude oil prices also touched double rate highs. That is, now the price of Tej will increase wildly. But, this is not the complete truth. Let’s understand the full math of this…
The prices which were increased due to Russia-Ukraine war are now falling.
Due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the price of crude oil in the international market rose sharply to $ 139.13 on 7 March. Earlier in 2008, the price of crude oil reached $140 per barrel. But, now the price is falling rapidly. On March 10, the rate came down to $ 108.7 per barrel. Experts say that the trend of declining rates will continue for now.
Not expensive, diesel-petrol may be cheaper by Rs 2-3
Arun Kumar Singh, chairman of BPCL, says, “The price of crude oil which is present now will not be tolerated by many countries. The rate is expected to come down to $90 in the next two weeks. If the issue of war between Russia and Ukraine. If this is resolved, then the prices may come down further as before. The price of petrol may be cheaper by Rs 2 to 3.”
If the price of crude oil comes around $90 per barrel in the international market, then there will be no possibility of increasing the price.
There are 3 solid reasons, the government will not increase the tax on petrol for the time being
The central government will refrain from increasing the price of petrol and diesel for the time being. This can be understood in three points.
- On 6 May 2020, during the first wave of Corona, the Modi government increased the excise duty on petrol by Rs 10 and on diesel by Rs 13 per liter. After this, the excise duty on petrol was increased to Rs 32.98 and on diesel to Rs 31.80 per liter. The earning which was 1.78 lakh crore in 2019-20, increased to 3.72 lakh crore in 2020-21.
- On 3 November 2021, the central government cut the excise duty on petrol by Rs 5 and on diesel by Rs 10 per liter. At present, the excise duty is Rs 27.98 on petrol and Rs 21.80 per liter on diesel.
- The price of crude oil stood at $ 139 per barrel only on 7 March. After three days the rate came to 108. If the price had remained stable then the tax could have been increased, but now the situation is the opposite.
Petroleum Minister said 5 days ago – the decision will be taken in the interest of the public
Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on March 8, “It would be wrong to say that we did not increase the price of petrol because of the elections. The price of oil is decided by the companies because they have to stay in the market.”
The price of crude oil doubled, yet the price did not increase
On December 1, 2021, the price of crude oil was $ 68.87. At that time the price of petrol in Delhi was Rs 95.41 per liter. On 7 March 2022, the price of crude oil reached $ 139.13. This means that in 102 days, the price in the international market increased by $ 70.26. But the price of petrol in Delhi remained unchanged at 95.41. Now the rate has come down to 108 dollars, so there is no reason to increase the rate.
However, the fear among the people right now is not completely unfounded, BJP has done this 3 times… Oil prices stabilize just before elections and rise after elections. Take a look at the records of three states below.
- Elections were held in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry from 6 April to 29 April 2021. Petrol and diesel prices were frozen from 23 February 2021. When the election results came on May 2. For the next five months from May 4, the price of petrol increased every day or every other day. During this, there was an increase of about Rs 20 per liter.
- Elections to the Bihar Legislative Assembly were held in October-November of 2020. From 23 September to 19 October, the prices of petrol and diesel did not increase even once. But after the election results, the prices started increasing from 20 November 2020.
- Lok Sabha elections were held in 2019. In March, the prices of crude oil in the international market increased by 10%. But the price only increased by 1%. After the results came on May 20, the prices of petrol and diesel started increasing again. Petrol prices did not increase during the elections in 2019, but after the formation of the government, the prices continued to increase. This photo is of PM’s roadshow after BJP’s victory.
economy is getting back on track
Due to Corona, the government got less tax in 2020-21. But in the last six months of 2021, on an average, Rs 1.20 lakh crore was received as GST. It simply means that the economy is getting back on track. The government’s total earnings are expected to exceed the budget estimate by more than 30%. In such a situation, the government will not impose any tax on petrol and diesel to earn extra on petrol.