Amit Shah calls PM Modi 'sensitive leader' after Centre reduces fuel prices

Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed his gratitude to PM Modi and Nirmala Sitharaman for reducing the excise duty on petrol and diesel and welcomed the 'public-friendly' decision.

Image credit: ANI

New Delhi: After Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made several announcements on Saturday including a sharp cut in central excise duty on fuel prices, Union Home Minister Amit Shah lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi while calling him a `sensitive leader` who `cares for every section of the country`. The government this evening announced a reduction in excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and on diesel by Rs 6 per litre, while also announcing to give a subsidy of Rs 200 per gas cylinder (up to 12 cylinders) to over nine crore beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.

7/12 We are reducing the Central excise duty on Petrol by ₹ 8 per litre and on Diesel by ₹ 6 per litre.
This will reduce the price of petrol by ₹ 9.5 per litre and of Diesel by ₹ 7 per litre.

It will have revenue implication of around ₹ 1 lakh crore/year for the government.

— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) May 21, 2022

Expressing his gratitude to PM Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who took to Twitter earlier this evening to make the announcements, Shah, who is currently on a two-day visit to Arunachal Pradesh, said the government has kept the concerns of the poor at the centre of its decisions throughout their eight years of power at the Centre.

"Modi ji is a sensitive leader who cares for every section of the country. Therefore, for the last 8 years, the concern for the interests of the poor, farmers and the general public of the country has always been at the centre of the decisions of the Modi government. I express my gratitude to @narendramodi ji and @nsitharaman ji for this public-friendly decision," the Home Minister tweeted in Hindi.

मोदी जी देश के हर वर्ग की चिंता करने वाले एक संवेदनशील नेता हैं।

इसलिए पिछले 8 सालों से देश के गरीब, किसान और आम जनता के हितों की चिंता हमेशा से मोदी सरकार के निर्णयों के केंद्र में रही है।

इस जन-हितैषी निर्णय के लिए @narendramodi जी और @nsitharaman जी का आभार व्यक्त करता हूँ।

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 21, 2022

Earlier today, noting that it is always "people first" for the BJP-led government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Centre`s decisions, especially the one relating to a significant drop in petrol and diesel prices, will positively impact various sectors, provide relief to citizens and further `Ease of Living.`

It is always people first for us!

Today’s decisions, especially the one relating to a significant drop in petrol and diesel prices will positively impact various sectors, provide relief to our citizens and further ‘Ease of Living.’ https://t.co/n0y5kiiJOh

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 21, 2022

Sitharaman while making the announcements, also referred to the Ukraine conflict and said that in addition to the fertilizer subsidy of Rs 1.05 lakh crore announced in the budget, an additional amount of Rs 1.10 lakh crore is being provided to help the farmers.

She also announced a reduction in the customs duty on raw materials and intermediaries for plastic products where India`s import dependence is high.The Finance Minister further announced that the import duty on some raw materials of steel will be reduced, while export duty will be levied on some steel products.