gÉÉŌ A.]ÉŌ. xÉÉxÉÉ

03.08.2010
Today, Shri Mulayam Singh Yadavji was challenging VAT. Today, the
State Governments are financially sound because of VAT. I know that the
Finance Minister of my State was opposing this. But today the State
Government’s income is what it is today. Many of the State Governments are on
sound footing because of the VAT system which was introduced earlier. This kind
of reform process is a continuous process. In that process, probably we wanted to
de-regulate the prices of petroleum products. What happened? An increase of
Rs.3.50 for petrol and Rs.2 for diesel was made. Was it justifiable? Here what is
happening? The State Governments and the Central Government are levying taxes.
Today, a new Bill called Goods and Services Tax Bill is before the House.
Yesterday, I read in the newspapers that the Gujarat Finance Minister and the
Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister have opposed it. All of us know who is ruling
Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. We have no doubt about it. In Gujarat, there is no
Government but for other kinds of artificial confrontations. But still the Finance
Minister of Gujarat said that they are not going to surrender their right and that
they are not going to allow the Central Government to introduce this new GST.
What does it mean? Today if Rs. 22 is the price of the fuel, then more than Rs. 23
is the tax. The Central Government is levying taxes; the State Government also is
levying tax and these two taxes together is more than the price itself. So, if the
common man is paying Rs. 48 and Rs. 50 for diesel and petrol respectively, then
50 per cent of that amount is tax. If it is liberalised, if the pricing system is de-
controlled, then we can still reduce the price. If the BJP wants to make it a
political issue, then we have nothing to say, but if the GST is introduced, then the
prices will come down, rates will come down. If the Central Government and the
State Governments cut down the prices by Rs. 2 or Rs. 3.50, then even now it is
possible. We have to sit with a determined mind to think as to how this can be
brought down. The impact of the increased prices of petrol and diesel in the whole
price index is very marginal. I come from a consumer State, some 2,000
kilometres away from Delhi, where each and every item is transported either by
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