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“Governments should not squeeze and take money from the people”: P.Chidamabram criticizes hiking excise duty of fuels

Veteran Congress leader and former union minister P.Chidamabram has criticized the union government’s decision to hike the excise duty of the petroleum products in the country. The former union finance minister said that the government’s decision to hike the excise duty is ‘cruel’.

“Governments should give money to the people in times of distress, not squeeze and take money from the people,” Chidambaram said. “We have been pleading for cash transfers from the government to the bottom half of the people/families. Instead, governments are doing a reverse transfer of money from the people to the government! Cruel,” he added.

“Governments must borrow to meet their deficits, not impose higher tax burdens when economic activity has ground to a halt,” he said. He accused that the new tax burden will will impoverish families further who were  already in distress.

The union  government on Tuesday night hiked the excise duty on petrol by  Rs 10 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 13 a litre. Retail prices of petrol and diesel will not be impacted by the tax changes as state-owned oil firms will adjust them against the recent fall in oil prices.

 

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