Petrol at Rs 80.87, diesel at Rs 72.97 in Delhi after a 14 paise hike today

At least 20 Opposition parties led by Congress staged a Bharat Bandh across the country on Monday to protest against the rising fuel prices and falling value of the rupee

Petrol and diesel prices saw a hike for the sixth straight day on Tuesday as oil marketing firms again revised fuel prices across the country. Petrol prices were hiked by 14 paise in both Delhi and Mumbai, while diesel saw an increase of 14 paise in Delhi and expanded by 15 in Mumbai.

Petrol now costs Rs 80.87 per litre, up from Rs 80.73, in Delhi and Rs 88.26 per litre, up from Rs 88.12, in Mumbai. Similarly, Diesel prices have been increased from Rs 72.83 to Rs 72.97 per litre in Delhi and from Rs 77.32 to Rs 77.47 in Mumbai.

Rising fuel prices in the country have been an issue of friction between the government and the opposition parties for the past couple of days.

Opposition parties are demanding a cut in the excise duty on petrol and diesel and bringing fuel under the ambit of GST.

At least 20 Opposition parties led by Congress staged a Bharat Bandh across the country on Monday to protest against the rising fuel prices and falling value of the rupee.

Opposition parties like the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS), led by the Congress party, took part in the protests. Left parties staged a separate shutdown of their own.

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Other parties such as Trinamool Congress, Aam Admi Party and Biju Janata Dal voiced their concerns over the price hike, however, they stayed away from the street protests called by the Congress.

Later, amid the constant rise in the prices of petrol and diesel, BJP president Amit Shah on Monday met Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, PTI reported.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan government announced a 4 per cent cut in the state VAT on petrol and diesel on Sunday to reduce their prices by Rs 2.5 per litre in the state, while Andhra Pradesh government on Monday announced a reduction of tax on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 a litre, to reduce the burden on common caused by zooming fuel prices.