Cong gives adjournment notice on fuel prices in LS

New Delhi, March 8 (IANS) Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib Manish Tewari on Monday gave adjournment notice in the Lok Sabha to discuss the price hike in petrol, diesel and LPG.The Congress is set to corner the government on the issue as it is related to the people’s cause. Earlier in the Rajya Sabha, the Chairman of the House M. Venkaiah Naidu rejected Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s notice of suspension of Business under rule 267.Kharge said, “The petrol price has reached Rs 100 per litre in some parts of the country and the government has earned more than Rs 20 lakh crore in the last six years through taxes and its utmost important to discuss it.”But the Chair did not allow it and said that it was against the rules. The House was adjourned till 11 a.m. and then again till 1 p.m. after the Congress MPs resorted to sloganeering. “I don’t want to take drastic action on the first day,” Naidu said.In the national capital, petrol was sold for Rs 91.17 per litre on Sunday.Similarly, in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, the fuel was priced at Rs 97.57, Rs 93.11 and Rs 91.35 per litre, respectively, all unchanged from the previous levels.After a spike in global oil prices seen over the last two weeks with crude price jumping close to $67 a barrel, prices had fallen to around $63 a barrel but it rose again to cross $69 a barrel mark now after the OPEC+ decision to continue with crude production cut in April.In tandem with petrol prices, diesel prices too were unchanged in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata at Rs 81.47, Rs 88.60, Rs 86.45 and Rs 84.35 per litre, respectively.Petrol and diesel prices have been rising continuously since February 9.In the 14 increases since then, prices have gone up by Rs 4.22 per litre for petrol while diesel rate has risen by Rs 4.34 a litre in Delhi.The increase in the previous weeks has taken petrol to cross historic high levels of Rs 100 a litre in several cities across the country.–IANSmiz/dpb