Petrol pumps in Rajasthan start 2-day strike today demanding tax cut

Jaipur (Rajasthan): The Rajasthan Petrol Dealers Association announced a 48-hour ‘No Purchase, No Sale’ strike, protesting against what they said ‘the high fuel prices in the state’, news agency ANI reported.

The outfit’s treasurer Sandeep Bageria said the strike is meant to draw the government’s attention to the situation.

‘Rajasthan Petrol Dealers Association has announced a "No Purchase, No Sale" strike from 6 am for the next 48 hours. The aim is to draw the attention of the government to the high fuel prices in the state,’Bageria was quoted as saying.

Bageria claimed that because of increased VAT in the state, the petrol pump operators face losses.

‘Due to increased VAT in Rajasthan, petrol pump operators are continuously facing losses. We have been demanding the government reduce VAT for a long time, but no hearing is taking place. Petrol is being sold much cheaper in neighbouring states than in Rajasthan. Another demand is that the commission of dealers has not increased for the last 7 years. Due to this, most of the petrol pumps in Rajasthan are on the verge of closure,’ he was quoted as saying.

Bageria said that 33 per cent of dealers in the organization are close to shutting down.

Bageria highlighted PM Modi’s promise of reducing petrol price, saying: ‘PM Modi had promised that the BJP government would reduce the prices of petrol, but no such thing happened. Rajasthan has the highest VAT on petrol, so it is needed to reduce the prices of petrol in the state, which are on par with the prices in other states.’