Punjab Congress:a comedy & theatre of absurd-Hardeep Puri

Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that Petrol prices in the country are not coming down as the states do not want to bring fuel under the ambit of the GST. Puri said petrol prices crossed the Rs 100-mark in West Bengal as the TMC government is levying heavy taxes.Ta;king to a news agencymin Kolkata, he said the West Bengal government increased prices by Rs 3.51 per litre since July, resulting in the petrol crossing the century-mark. "The combined taxation is around 40 per cent in West Bengal. It is very easy to make statements. Had TMC government not increased the price by Rs 3.51, then it would have been still under Rs 100 per litre," he said.

Puri further said that the Centre charges Rs 32 per litre as taxes on petrol  when the fuel price was USD 19 per barrel, and we are still charging the same even when the price rose to USD 75 per barrel. With this Rs 32 per litre, we provide free ration, free housing and Ujjawala, among several other schemes, to the people, Puri was in Kolkata on Wednesday to campaign for the Bhabanipur bypoll in which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is the TMC candidate against BJP's Priyanka Tibrewal and CPI(M)'s Srijib Biswas."If the result of the Bhabanipur by-election is a foregone conclusion, then why is the entire state cabinet campaigning there? We are confident about a victory, and post-poll violence is a major issue in this poll," he claimed.

On the political developments in Punjab, Puri said it reflects the "terminal decline" of the Congress.  In Bengal, they fought with one set of allies. In Kerala, they fought with a different set of allies. They are drawing almost blank everywhere. In UP, where the Congress party grew up, I don't know who wants to partner them, he said. What is going with the Congress in Punjab is a comedy and theatre of the absurd,Puri added.