Mangalore: Former chairman, MUDA, and current head of city North Block CC, Congressmen K. Suresh Ballal has addressed a Kannada letter to state governor Hans Raj Bhardwaj through DC Ponnuraj (both of whom may know only broken Kannada), requesting the govt, to reduce petroleum prices on Diesel and Petrol Friday morning.

The Indian crude oil price is dependent upon New York market rate. On June 25, the petrol and diesel rates in India were raised. Petrol rate is dethroned by govt, to go according to market prices daily and not under control.
Karnataka oil rates are above those of Maharashtra or Tamil Nadu and several other states, as 5% entry tax is added to 25% VAT here on Petrol, and 18%+5% tax on Diesel. The state earns around Rs. 300 crores additional revenue in these two cases. The state (BJP) rulers have raised bus travel rates on Rajahamsa and other buses. The Govt, has no will power to collect Rs. 40 crores (raised price collections) elsewhere in another account.

In small states like Delhi and Goa, the governments have reduced the VAT rates on Petrol / Diesel, so the rate has come down by Rs. 2.70 a litre. The Karnataka govt, aught to heed to Central instructions to reduce VAT so that common people get due justice when they already suffer from rising prices on all sides. Why it is not doing so?
The governor, the letter said, should kindly look into the costly VAT charged by BJP govt, on Petroleum products and cooking gas to allow middle class and working masses breathe freely, and an adequate relief in this matter appeases them, Ballal stated in his petition.
The letter was given to additional DC Prabhakar Sharma this morning in a delegation which had S. Ballal, Naveen D’Souza, M. Ashraf and Shashidhar Hegde (both ex-mayors), D. Ashok Kumar, Mendon and others.