Summary:
New Delhi, Oct 22 (PTI) Amid a clamour by the Opposition for cutting taxes to soften record high petrol and diesel prices, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday equated the move to "axing one"s own feet", saying such levies funded government schemes to provide free COVID-19 vaccines, meals and cooking gas to millions amid the pandemic.
He also said domestic rates are linked to international oil prices, which have shot up due a variety of reasons which need to be understood.
"I think this simplistic political narrative we get in India (that), "Prices have gone up why don"t you reduce your taxes"...
so every time price goes up due to something else, it says you axe your own feet in the process," he told reporters here.
He was asked a question on whether the government would cut taxes, which make up for 54 per cent of the price of petrol and over 48 per cent of diesel, to ease the burden on consumers.
"Yesterday we completed vaccinating one billion (against COVID), we fed 90 crore people for one full year (during the pandemic) providing 3 meals in a day, we did Ujjwala scheme (of providing free cooking gas LPG refill to 8 crore poor beneficiaries).