Petrol politics kicks in ahead of polls as states go for tax cut

With a number of BJP-ruled states reducing taxes on petrol and diesel on Thursday and the party trying to frame it as a “Diwali gift” by the Modi government, the Congress took a swipe at the ruling party, saying the decision to slash the excise duty was driven by fear and not by a desire to lighten the common man’s burden.

The steady rise in fuel prices had angered people and made sections in the saffron party jittery over fears of a blowback. The BJP is already under pressure over its handling of the Covid-19 crisis and facing anti-incumbency in poll-bound states. The excise duty cut, interestingly, came after the bye-election results and Congress leader P Chidambaram said it was a “by-product of the bypolls”.