68% fuel taxes cornered by Centre, alleges Congress

New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the states to reduce VAT on fuel prices, the Congress on Thursday blamed the Centre for high fuel prices and taxes and alleged that the federalism by the government is not cooperative but "coercive."

Taking to Twitter, party leader Rahul Gandhi said: "High Fuel prices - blame states, Coal shortage - blame states, Oxygen shortage - blame states. 68% of all fuel taxes are taken by the Centre. Yet, the PM abdicates responsibility. Modi's Federalism is not cooperative. It's coercive."

The grand-old party has been attacking the government for high taxes on fuel despite low international crude prices.

It has alleged that the Prime Minister's statement are not based on facts and in the garb of cooperative federalism, the Prime Minister expects the states to reduce VAT on petrol and diesel, without first giving an account of the Central Excise, through which the Central government has earned Rs 27 lakh crore in the last eight years.

Sixty-eight per cent of the taxes collected on petrol and diesel go to the share of the central government. 32 per cent come to state governments. Expecting the state governments, which have already been starved off of their share of GST is, I think, very unfair and as I have said, not befitting the stature of the Prime Minister, Rahul added.