Opposition parties on Saturday accused the Centre of trying to fool people after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an excise duty cut on auto fuels, even as senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and Union ministers hailed the government “for putting the interests of the people first”.
Sitharaman announced a host of steps to provide relief to the people from rising inflation that included slashing of central duties on petrol by ₹8 a litre and diesel by ₹6, giving ₹200 per cylinder cooking gas subsidy to 90 million poor households, reducing customs duty on plastic products, iron and steel, and taking measures to ensure availability of cement in adequate quantity.
