Fuel price rise: PTR’s veiled attack on AIADMK

Intervening during the debate on demand for grants for the Water Resource Department, Thiaga Rajan said, “Between 2011 and 2021, fuel price was raised five times. It was not reduced even once. It is not correct on the part of a party which raised fuel prices five times and did not reduce even once to talk about our Rs 3 tax cut on petrol.” 

The Finance Minister said this in response to AIADMK MLA from Vepannahalli KP Munusamy’s statement in the House that the ruling DMK had promised something in its poll manifesto and announced differently in the budget. 

Munusamy said the DMK had promised Rs 5 per liter reduction on a liter of petrol, but it has announced only Rs 3 per liter now. Citing the ruling party’s poll promise, Munusamy said the DMK had promised to increase MGNREGA working days to 150 and wages from Rs 273 to Rs 300, but the government has now announced that it would persuade the Union government in this regard. “You say one thing in the manifesto. Something else in the budget,” the senior AIADMK MLA said, prompting an instant reaction from the Finance Minister, who gave a strong reply, a small portion of which was expunged at the behest of Chief Minister MK Stalin. The Chief Minister intervened after Leader of Opposition K Palaniswami drew the Speaker’s attention to the Finance Minister’s choice of vocabulary.