“This inflation has not been caused by a spurt in demand. On the contrary, private consumer demand is low. This inflation has not been caused by excess liquidity or too much money in the hands of the people. This inflation has been caused by the wrong policies of the government and its inept management of the economy,” said Chidambaram.
“The price of petrol in Delhi on Tuesday was Rs 100.91 per litre and that of diesel was Rs 89.88 per litre. In Mumbai, they are Rs 106.93 per litre and Rs 97.46 per litre, respectively. LPG price in Delhi is Rs 835/cylinder, in Patna it is Rs 933/cylinder. None of these prices is justified by the price of crude oil which is around USD 75 a barrel. When crude oil price was USD 125, the UPA government was able to provide petrol at Rs 65 a litre and diesel at Rs 44 a litre.
“The sole reason for the exorbitant prices is the levy of cesses by the government. Total cesses levied by the Central government on petrol and diesel are Rs 33/litre and Rs 32/litre respectively. Through these cesses alone the Central government collects approximately Rs 4.2 lakh crore every year and keeps all that money to itself. This is exploitation and greed of the worst kind,” he said.
