Reiterating the stance of Finance Minister KN Balagopal, on not rolling back the fuel prices, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan clarified that the state government is not going to roll back on the social security cess imposed and thereby decided not to revoke the Rs 2 hike for both petrol and diesel that was announced in the state budget.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan blamed the central government policies and termed the central finance ministries’ decision to reduce the fund allocation as ‘revenge politics’ to squeeze the financial pockets of the state treasury. CM Vijayan harshly criticised the state congress leaders for attacking the state government over the matter and said that the Congress party is working in tandem with the BJP in the state.
The Chief Minister said in a press conference that those who gave power to the oil companies to increase fuel prices in the country are now protesting against fuel cess
“The government has explained in the Assembly the situation in which cess had to be introduced. The central government is trying to destroy Kerala economically. The opposition in the state is supporting it. People will not take the agitations by the BJP and the Congress at face value,” the CM said.
“Congress is the party that even changed the ministers during the tenure of the second UPA government for reliance. In the 2015 budget, the then UDF government in Kerala introduced an additional tax of Rs 1. Back then the price of fuel was only half of what it is today,” he added.
