Chennai, April 28 (BPNS)
The Tamil Nadu legislative assembly on Thursday witnessed a verbal duel between two national parties, the BJP, and Congress. The subject was the hike in petroleum prices and cooking gas.
The BJP charged at the Congress for leaving behind the payment pending in lieu of oil bonds of over 1.36 lakh crore and the Congress retorted as to why the saffron party had provided relief to specific corporates after collecting 26.5 lakh crore as fuel taxes.
The Congress legislative party leader, K. Selvaperuthungai (Sirperumbudur) raised the issue of rising fuel prices in the house during zero hours. Referring to the virtual meeting the Prime Minister had with the Chief Ministers on Wednesday, he charged the BJP government at the centre over the rising price of fuels in the country and said that the people are far stretched over the price hike in fuel and added that this is leading to spiraling prices of essential commodities also.
BJP floor leader Nainar Nagenthran representing the Tirunelveli assembly constituency during the discussion in the house said that the policy of the UPA government that ruled the country till 2014 was the reason behind the hike in fuel prices, referring to the pending oil bond payments.
The BJP leader said that Congress had ruled the country for several years and added that it was the BJP that had cut down on fuel prices. Nainar Nagenthran also acknowledged the DMK government that had cut down the state tax on fuel prices.
The Congress floor leader, Selvaperunthagai accepted the argument on oil bonds but said that the BJP government had collected Rs 26,51,919 crore as fuel taxes since 2014 and asked why the BJP government had given huge loan waivers to specific corporates, led by Ambani and Adani.
Both the BJP and Congress legislators joined the discussion leading to shouting down each other even as the BJP floor leader accepted that the Government of India has collected Rs 26,51, 919 as fuel tax and added that the money was used for several social and welfare measures in the country.
