Karnataka Petrol Diesel Price Hike: CM Siddaramaiah reacts | Check fuel prices in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states

Karnataka Petrol Diesel Price Hike: Amid uproar over fuel prices in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah assured citizens that the government remains committed to keeping fuel prices reasonable. The Chief Minister also said that Karnataka's revised rates are still more affordable than neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

"The Government of Karnataka has increased VAT on petrol to 29.84 per cent and on diesel to 18.44 per cent. Even after this hike, our state's taxes on fuel remain lower than most South Indian states and similar economy-sized states like Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, the VAT on petrol is 25 per cent plus Rs 5.12 additional tax, and on diesel, it is 21 per cent. Karnataka's revised rates are still more affordable," CM Siddaramaiah told reporters.

Karnataka Petrol Diesel Price Hike News Today

The Karnataka government on June 15 hiked local VAT (value added tax) from 25.92 per cent to 29.84 per cent on petrol and from 14.3 per cent to 18.4 per cent on diesel.

The price of petrol has surged by Rs 3, bringing the cost per litre in Bengaluru to Rs 102.84, up from the previous rate of Rs 99.84. Similarly, the price of diesel has increased by Rs 3.02, raising the cost per litre from Rs 85.93 to Rs 88.95.

According to the Petroleum Dealers Association, the price has increased because the state government has revised the sales tax in the state, which is levied on petroleum products in the state.

Karnataka Petrol Diesel Price Hike News Today: Prices in neighbouring states

But the rates in Karnataka are still lower than neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

TDP-BJP combine-ruled Andhra Pradesh has the costliest petrol at Rs 109.87 a litre, followed by Left Democratic Front (LDF)-ruled Kerala, where a litre of petrol comes for Rs 107.54. Congress-run Telangana is close behind with petrol costing Rs 107.39 a litre.

BJP-ruled states are not far behind - petrol costs Rs 106.45 a litre in Bhopal, Rs 105.16 in Patna (BJP in coalition with JD-U), Rs 104.86 in Jaipur and Rs 104.19 in Mumbai.

Mamata Banerjee's TMC-ruled West Bengal has petrol priced at Rs 103.93 a litre.

Other states with over Rs 100-a-litre petrol are Odisha (Rs 101.04 a litre in Bhubaneswar), Tamil Nadu (Rs 100.73 in Chennai), and Chhattisgarh (Rs 100.37 in Raipur), industry pricing data showed.

The fuel is in the range of Rs 92-93 a litre in BJP-ruled states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Bihar. It is also in that range in Odisha and Jharkhand.

"The price gap is even more staggering if Karnataka is compared with BJP-governed Arunachal Pradesh where the party has come back to power strongly. The petrol prices in Karnataka are over Rs 12/litre higher than in Arunachal. The price gap for diesel is Rs 8.59/litre between the two states with Arunachal being much less expensive," Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said.

"For instance, petrol prices in Congress-ruled Telangana is Rs 12.76/litre higher than in UP. The difference in diesel prices between these two states is also significant at Rs 7.89/litre. Similarly, the petrol prices are Rs 9.29/ litre higher in Trinamool Congress-run West Bengal compared with BJP-run Gujarat," he added.

With PTI inputs