The Congress on Saturday said the Narendra Modi government would extract over Rs 1 lakh crore through the recent hike in prices, brazenly using electoral victories as the licence to loot.
Citing hike in the prices of fertilisers, medicine, cement, steel, aluminium, cars, electronic gadgets from April 1 apart from petrol, diesel, LPG-CNG-PNG and other items, Congress communications chief Randeep Surjewala said: “No section of society has been spared. Sustenance has become a challenge for the poor and the middle class. Mehngai is becoming a curse for the citizens. But the Modi government is celebrating the daily event of price rise to mock the people.”
Giving details of every item, Surjewala said: “Over 62 crore farmers were attacked yesterday by raising the price of DAP fertiliser by Rs 150 per bag (50kg). Farmers consume 1.20 lakh crore tonnes DAP every year. The additional burden will be Rs 3,600 crore. Price of NPKS bag of 50kg has been increased by Rs 110 per bag. The additional burden on farmer comes to Rs 3,740 crore.”
Pointing out that the tenth increase in prices of petrol and diesel in the last 12 days makes a total increase Rs 7.20/litre, Surjewala said: “The government’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell says consumption of petrol in 2020-21 was 27,969 thousand metric tonnes. The recent increase in price puts an additional yearly burden of Rs 20,138 crore on people. Consumption of diesel in 2020-21 was 72,713 thousand metric tones and hence the additional yearly burden will be Rs 52,353 crore.”
Commercial gas cylinder price was hiked by Rs 250; by Rs 346 in the last two months. In last eight years of BJP rule, the commercial LPG cylinder has seen a massive hike of Rs 845. Domestic gas cylinder price was hiked by Rs 50 on March 22.
Since March 2021, the price hike for domestic cylinder is Rs 140.50. The total additional yearly burden on people comes to Rs 27,095 crore. Price of CNG, the main fuel for public transport, was hiked for the sixth time yesterday in a month, totalling an increase of Rs 4 per kg. The additional burden on people comes to Rs 1,400 crore. Price of piped natural gas (PNG) too has been hiked by Rs 6 per standard cubic meter (SCM), putting an additional burden of Rs 961.20 crore on people, Surjewala said.
Additional burden through toll tax on national highways, raised by 10 per cent to 18 per cent, will be Rs 6,120 crore.
“The government has not even spared ill patients. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has announced a hike of 10.76 per cent in prices of around 800 essential drugs from April 1. As per industry estimates, it will burden the ordinary consumer by Rs 10,000 crore. House prices and construction costs have gone up 15 per cent more in April due to rising cost of construction materials such as steel, cement, bricks, copper, sanitary fittings and wood. Steel prices increased 30 per cent from March 2021 to March 2022; cement costs went up by 22 per cent, prices of copper and aluminum were up by 40 per cent and 44 per cent, respectively, in the same period,” he claimed.
The Congress leader also cited abolition of tax reduction for first-time homebuyers, reduction of interest and tax on PF account, fine for not linking PAN with Aadhaar, increase in prices of TV, AC, refrigerator, LED and mobile owing to the imposition of a 30 per cent duty on aluminium ore and concentrate used in making these gadgets to buttress his charge of loot.
