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TN CM, FM blame Centre for fuel price hike

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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Thursday blamed the BJP-led central government for hiking the petrol and diesel prices.

Speaking in the state Assembly, Stalin said as the excise duty has to be shared with the state, the Central government reduced that while hiking the cesses and surcharges which are not shared with the states.

The two Ministers were responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call on Wednesday to states to reduce the Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel “in the spirit of cooperative federalism”.

Modi on Wednesday lit the fuse citing the Central government reducing petrol and diesel prices by Rs 5/litre and Rs 10/litre, respectively, while many states have not followed suit.

Stalin said hiking the cesses and surcharges the Central government increased the burden on the common man while earning for itself lakhs of crore of rupees.

As per the figures of Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), the total contribution of the petroleum sector to the central exchequer galloped from Rs 172,065 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 419,884 crore in 2020-21 and for the nine month period in FY22, it was Rs 310,155 crore.

On the other hand, the state’s revenue went up from Rs 160,554 crore in FY15 to Rs 217,650 crore in FY21 and Rs 207,658 crore for the nine month period in FY22.

“While both, the Central and the state governments, say that they get the revenue for investments in infrastructure, the PPAC figures show that the Central government has further leeway to reduce the rates,” an industry official told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

According to Stalin, owing to some state elections, the central government reduced the oil prices and after winning the polls, the prices were hiked fast.

Meanwhile Rajan urged the Centre to remove cesses and surcharges on petrol and diesel revert to the 2014 rates, an act which is fair and simple.

“We have repeatedly urged the Union government to reduce the cesses and surcharges being levied and merge them with the basic tax rates so that states get their rightful share from the proceeds of the Union taxes,” Rajan said.

According to Rajan, since Tamil Nadu levies ‘ad valorem’ taxes which are applied after Central taxes, this move by the Centre will cause an additional loss of about Rs 1,050 crore in annual revenue to the state.

“Given that the Union Government’s taxes continue to be exorbitant, it is neither fair nor feasible for the State Government to further reduce taxes.”

He hoped that the Central government would heed to this reasonable request in the “true spirit of cooperative federalism”.

He said the Centre’s levies on petrol have gone up substantially in the past seven years since Modi took charge for the first time in 2014.

Listing out the basic points and the tax rates on petrol and diesel, Rajan said on August 1, 2014, the basic price was Rs 48.55 per litre for petrol and Rs.47.27 per litre for diesel.

On November 4, 2021, the basic price of petrol was Rs 48.36 per litre while that of diesel was Rs 49.69 per litre.

On August 1, 2014, the Centre’s taxes were Rs 9.48 per litre on petrol and Rs 3.57 per litre on diesel. At that time, the state government taxes were at Rs 15.67 per litre on petrol and Rs 10.25 per litre on diesel.

“Prior to the reduction of taxes on petrol and diesel by Union Government, the levy of tax, including cesses and surcharges by Union Government on petrol was Rs 32.90 per litre and Rs 31.80 per litre on diesel,” he said.

“This has been reduced to Rs 27.90 per litre for petrol and Rs 21.80 per litre for diesel after the cut. So, when compared to 2014 (when basic price was roughly the same), the Union government still levies an additional tax of Rs 18.42 per litre for petrol (an increase of roughly 200 per cent) and Rs 18.23 per litre for diesel (an increase of over 500 per cent) compared to the taxes in effect when it took office in 2014.

“Though the revenue to the Union government has increased manifold, there has not been a matching increase in the revenues to States. This is because the Union government has increased the cess and surcharge on petrol and diesel while reducing the basic excise duty that is shareable with the states.

“In 2020-21, the revenue to the Union government from levies on petrol and diesel was Rs 3,89,622 crore which was 63 per cent higher than the revenue of Rs 2,39,452 crore in 2019-20. On the other hand, the government of Tamil Nadu in 2020-21 received only Rs 837.75 crore as share of the tax devolution from the Union Excise Duties on petrol and diesel as against the Rs 1,163.13 crore received in 2019-20,” the Minister added.

According to Rajan, after the advent of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, the states have lost substantial powers to levy their own taxes and raise revenue.

“Further, the GST compensation regime comes to an end on June 30 and most states including Tamil Nadu have already requested the compensation to be extended considering the strain caused by the pandemic on state finances. However, there is no clarity from the Union government on whether the compensation will continue or not after June 30.”

On bringing petrol and diesel under the GST regime, Rajan had earlier said it can be done provided the Central government scraps the cess and surcharge levied on them.

On the other hand, AIADMK’s late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa was a strong advocate for changing the fuel pricing formula.

She had argued that the fuel rates should be determined based on import costs and refining charges and rates of domestic crude oil and the refining charges for the same instead of basing it on trade parity Price.

National News

Asaduddin Owaisi Challenges Rahul Gandhi To Contest Election Against Him From Hyderabad

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Hyderabad, September 25: AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi has challenged Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against him from Hyderabad and not from Wayanad. Participating in a rally on Monday, Owaisi said, “Is baar Wayanad se nahi Hyderabad mein muqabla karo” (This time fight from Hyderabad and not Wayanad). I am challenging you (Rahul Gandhi) don’t go to Wayanad, come to Hyderabad and contest elections.”

‘Come to the ground and let’s have a contest’

“You keep giving big statements, come to the ground and let’s have a contest. People from Congress will say a lot of things, but I am ready. Come and face this man with beard and sherwani, you will know what a contest means,” he stated. “Babri Masjid and Secretariat’s mosque were demolished under the Congress regime,” he charged.

The Congress people would do a lot of talking

“The same BJP MP who bad-mouthed in Parliament had also stood up against me to speak. I strictly told him to sit down. You can’t face my sharp tongue. The Congress people would do a lot of talking. I am ready. I am also appealing before the people of Telangana, remember, the common man was harassed and attacked during the regime of Congress. With great difficulty, we have ensured peace in the city. This peace should be intact,” Owaisi stated. Rahul Gandhi recently charged that BJP, Bharata Rastra Samithi (BRS) and AIMIM are collaborating ahead of the state Assembly elections.

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National News

BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri Abuses, Calls BSP’s Danish Ali ‘Pimp’, ‘Terrorist’ in Lok Sabha; Rajnath Singh Expresses Regret

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New Delhi: In a shocking use of unparliamentary language used in the Lok Sabha, BJP MP from Delhi, Ramesh Bidhuri, abused and used foul language on record against BSP MP Danish Ali. In the video which is being shared by parliamentarians of Opposition parties, it is evident that BJP MP Bidhuri used abuses and highly objectionable language for the BSP MP when he tried to reply to the BJP MP. Bidhuri made the remarks while participating in a discussion on the Chandrayaan-3 mission in the Lok Sabha and started his tirade after saying that “PM Modi was not trying to steal credit of the scientists…”

BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri used words such as “extremist”, “pimp” and “terrorist” and abused BSP MP Danish Ali while speaking in the Lok Sabha. “Ye Mulla aatankwadi hai (This cleric is a terrorist)” and “bahar pheko naa iss mulle ko (throw this cleric outside),” said the BJP MP even as Opposition raised objections against the filthy language used by Ramesh Bidhuri.

Shockingly, former Union Health Minister Dr Harshvardhan of the BJP was seen laughing and grining on Ramesh Bidhuri’s highly objectionable remarks in the Lok Sabha. BJP MP Dr Harshvardhan was seated a row behind Ramesh Bidhuri.

Massive outrage across party lines

The comments by Bidhuri created massive outrage across MPs from across the party lines.

“Filthy language used by a BJP parliamentarian for fellow MP from BSP @KDanishAli. No shame left. This is sickening. Will speaker LS take note and take action?” posted UBT leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on X, tagging TMC MP Mahua Moitra.

Chairman, Media & Publicity Deptt of Congress party, also commented on the objectionable language used by Ramesh Bidhuri.

National Conference (NC) leader and former Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah also criticised the MP for the language used against a fellow parliamentarian.

Rajnath Singh expresses regret over remarks

Raksha Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday (September 21) expressed regret in the Lok Sabha for the “objectionable” remarks made by BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri.

Congress member K Suresh, who was in the Chair when the episode played out in the Lok Sabha, said that he had already instructed the officials to expunge the remarks.

“I express regret if the opposition is hurt by the remarks made by the member,” Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh said in his comments.

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National News

Canada High Commission Calls On Indian Govt To Ensure Safety & Security Of Diplomats, Staff Following Threats On Social Media

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New Delhi: Amid growing tensions, the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi on Thursday called on the Indian government to ensure safety and security of diplomats and staff after they received threats on social media. The Canada High Commission in Delhi said, “Our High Commission and all consulates in India are open and operational and continue to serve clients. Global Affairs Canada continuously monitors the safety and security of our missions and personnel as we maintain a strict security protocol to respond to any events.”

Canada High Commission Statement

It said: “In light of the current environment where tensions have heightened, we are taking action to ensure the safety of our diplomats. With some diplomats having received threats on various social media platforms, Global Affairs Canada is assessing its staff complement in India. As a result, and out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to temporarily adjust staff presence in India. All of our locations are staffed by diplomats and locally-engaged staff to ensure business and operational continuity.” It said that Global Affairs Canada will continue to take all appropriate measures to protect the health and safety of all our personnel, including locally-engaged staff, and to protect our operations in India. “Decisions are made based on a number of factors including the professional profile of an employee or personal circumstances,” it said.

Obligations under the Vienna conventions

“In the context of respect for obligations under the Vienna conventions, we expect India to provide for the security of our accredited diplomats and consular officers in India, just as we are for theirs here,” the statement added.

The diplomatic tension between the two nations nosedived on Tuesday over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

New Delhi on Tuesday expelled a senior Canadian diplomat based here in a tit for tat move giving similar reply to Canada. The High Commissioner of Canada to India (Cameron Mackay) received summons on Tuesday during which the Government of India conveyed its decision to expel a senior Canadian diplomat currently stationed in the country. The concerned diplomat has been officially instructed to depart from India within the next five days, a statement issued by the MEA said.

“The decision reflects the Government of India’s growing concern at the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities,” the statement said.

The decision came after Canada had earlier expelled a high ranking Indian diplomat. These developments have occurred after Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday in an emergency statement in Parliament accused the Government of India of involvement in the fatal shooting of Nijjar. India has rejected claims by the Canadian government that it had an involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India has dubbed the charges as “absurd and motivated.”

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