Hours after establishing a majority in the floor test, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde on Monday announced relief in petrol and diesel prices in the coming days. Shinde said his government will cut VAT on fuel to provide relief ‘to the people of Maharashtra’.
Shinde made the announcement during the concluding session of the two-day Assembly. A decision to reduce VAT on fuel will be taken in the state cabinet, Shinde informed the House.
“A decision to reduce VAT on fuel will be taken soon to provide relief to the people of the state,” the newly appointed Maharashtra chief minister later tweeted in Marathi.
Petrol price in Mumbai currently stands at ₹111.35 per litre, while diesel stands at ₹97.28 per litre. The fuel prices were last reduced in May when the Centre cut excise duty for the second time. The Centre had previously slashed excise duty on fuel prices in November last year – cutting petrol price by ₹5 and diesel by ₹10.
Most BJP-ruled states had followed suit and announced fuel price cut.
“When the Centre and state are on the same page, the speed of development increases multifold in that state. We will (also) surely get the benefit from Devendra Fadnavis’ experience,” Shinde said today, while addressing a press briefing on the same issue, following the Assembly session.
Shinde, who led a revolt against the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and caused the collapse of the 31-month-old Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, took oath as the chief minister of the western state on June 30.
Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra.
Earlier in the day, Shinde comfortably won the much-awaited floor test as the 288-member House voted, with 164 MLAs in favour and 99 against him. Three legislators abstained from voting, while 21 legislators, including Congress’s Ashok Chavan and Vijay Wadettiwar, remained absent.
