New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called upon opposition-ruled states to follow the Centre's decision by reducing taxes on petrol and diesel to provide relief to the people from the price hike.

"In order to reduce the burden of rising petrol and diesel prices, the central government reduced the excise duty last November. We had urged the states too to reduce their taxes. Some states reduced the tax and provided benefits to the consumers but some didn't do so," said PM Modi.

Naming opposition parties ruled states, PM Modi said, "Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Jharkhand, and Tamil Nadu did not follow the advice of Central Government and people in these states are burdened with price rise. I request these states to do now what they should have done in November. By reducing the VAT you can lower the burden faced by the residents," he added.

PM Modi made the following comments during his interactions with Chief Ministers of several states over rising cases of COVID-19.

The Central government in November had reduced excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 respectively. Following the Center's decision, 25 states and Union Territories, mostly ruled by BJP or their allies had reduced VAT on petrol and diesel to give relief to consumers.