An advertisement issued by the ministry of petroleum and natural gas (P&NG) in leading local dailies has further fuelled the Mamata Banerjee-Centre strife. The advertisement titled: “Was the increase in price of diesel and capping of domestic LPG unavoidable? No for the following reason” has appeared on the front page of the newspapers. Expectedly, the P&NG ministry tries to justify and defend the recent price hike and restriction on the number of subsidised LPG per year. It gives statistics in support of its argument that both the moves were unavoidable.
However, the state government has taken umbrage at the suggestion made by the Centre that the state could forgo the additional revenue which it would earn due to the recent price hike of diesel by `5 per litre. “The recent hike in the price of diesel will alone yield an additional tax revenue of about `8,200 crores per annum to the states. The states can, therefore, at least forgo this additional revenue to provide additional comfort to the common man,” one paragraph in the long advertisement said.
Political observers pointed out that this was a carefully-planned strategy to silence the state governments which have their voices against the Centre’s recent announcement. “By making this suggestion, the Centre has tried to expose the chief ministers who have been accusing it of announcing anti-people policies,” they claimed.
Reacting sharply to the advice, state panchayat affairs minister Subrata Mukherjee said it was clearly aimed at embarrassing the state government.