Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave ‘Diwali gift’ to people across India on Wednesday (today) by reducing diesel price Rs 10 per litre and petrol price by Rs 5 per litre by cutting Centre’s excise duty on fuel accordingly.

The revised prices will come into force from Diwali on Thursday.

Modi’s decision came all of a sudden after BJP suffered defeats in bypolls held in several states where it is in power when results were declared on Tuesday (yesterday). The party believes that spiraling fuel prices led to voters anger against BJP and that is reflected in the bypoll results.

With Uttar Pradesh and Punjab elections round the corner, the Modi government feared that if fuel prices are not brought down, the BJP will lose these two states also in 2022.

Now that Modi took initiative to bring down fuel prices by cutting excise duty being imposed by the Centre, questions are being raised on what Telangana CM KCR and AP CM YS Jagan will do to bring down fuel prices further in their respective states.

Telangana government imposes 35.2 per cent VAT (value added tax) on petrol 27 per cent VAT on diesel.

The AP government is collecting Rs 19.20 as tax on diesel that include 22.25 per cent VAT, Rs 4 per litre as additional tax and Rs 1 as Road Cess. When it comes to petrol, 31 per cent VAT is levied apart from an additional VAT of Rs 4 per litre and Rs 1 Road Cess.

In recent Huzurabad bypoll, TRS took an aggressive campaign against rising fuel prices to target BJP.

Telangana BJP leaders countered it saying if the TRS government is really sincere about bringing down prices, it should first reduce VAT on petrol and diesel and if Telangana reduces VAT, they will request the BJP government at the Centre to reduce excise duty and ensure it is reduced.

Now that, Modi has reduced excise duty, will KCR and Jagan come forward to reduce VAT on their part and bring down prices of fuel further to benefit people is the question being debated in political circles.