To ensure that the increased fuel prices do not impose any additional financial burden on the people of Punjab, the Punjab Government should follow the example of the BJP-led Central Government, which on March 27, 2026 reduced taxes by Rs 10 per litre and absorbed the burden of rising fuel prices.
Similarly, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann should also absorb the increased burden of Rs 3 per litre on petrol and diesel by reducing state taxes, so that farmers and the common people do not suffer additional economic hardship during this crucial sowing season.
This was stated by Punjab BJP General Secretary Anil Sarin while addressing the media in the presence of the party’s State Media Head Vineet Joshi. Sarin said that despite the Russia-Ukraine war and other international factors, the BJP-led Central Government did not increase the prices of petrol and diesel for nearly four and a quarter years, from April 2022 to May 14, 2026.
He said that, on the other hand, after March 2022, the so-called Aam Aadmi Party Government in Punjab increased state taxes on petrol and diesel, thereby imposing an additional burden of nearly Rs 3 per litre on the common people.
Sareen further stated that due to the prevailing war-like situation, crude oil prices have risen from around 70 dollars per barrel to nearly 120–130 dollars per barrel. As a result, fuel prices have increased by nearly 50 percent in the United States, 20 percent in Europe, 60 percent in Pakistan, and 16 percent in Bangladesh.
In contrast, fuel prices in India have increased by only around 3 percent. He urged Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to follow the example of the Central Government by reducing state taxes and absorbing the burden of the Rs 3 per litre increase, thereby providing relief to the common people.