The cut in central excise duty of Rs. 5 per litre of petrol and Rs. 10 per litre of diesel announced by the Central government is only a token reduction and will provide no relief to the people.
Since central excise alone amounts to Rs. 33 per litre of petrol and Rs. 32 per litre of diesel, this is only a marginal cut and this will not lessen the burden of exorbitant fuel price on the economy and the people. It is only a knee-jerk reaction to the adverse results of the by-elections in some states for the BJP.
The only way that fuel prices can be maintained at reasonable levels is to effect a substantial cut in excise duties and do away with the special cess imposed on fuel.
The Polit Bureau appeals to all its units to continue with the protests against price rise of petrol and diesel as called for by the October Central Committee meeting.
