Manish Singh
Adulteration at work, prices four times higher!! In the country, petrol usually sells for around ₹100, while the price of crude oil in the open market is $70 per barrel. When the price per barrel was $135, we all bought petrol at ₹65. But those were the bad days before 2014.
The warmth of “good days” has been rising along with petrol prices. During the era of the “fortunate” PM, not only did international oil prices fall, but global circumstances also aligned so that Russia began giving us discounts.
So, the oil that the rest of the world gets for $70 per barrel comes to us for about $55 to $62 per barrel. Then “Kakkaji” mixes ethanol in it. They admit to 20%, but how much they actually do, only God knows.
Adding an average refining cost of ₹5, transportation of ₹2, and dealer commission of ₹3, this adulterated product costs about ₹46–47. When you buy it, look at how much of what you pay goes where. More than half — the orange part — is called “tax” in polite language and “robbery” in plain words.
To keep this loot system going, they are weakening the railways, making them sick, and forcing people onto highways, which are being built vigorously. The mathematics of highway contracts can be discussed another time. There was a time when socialist “fool” governments used to raid profiteers and adulterators and send them to jail. Fed up, these people formed a party, promised petrol at ₹40, came to power, and now adulteration and profiteering have become a national enterprise.
A few years ago, a great man called GST the “Gabbar Singh Tax.” That was only 18–28%. On fuel, there isn’t tax — it’s direct looting, collected with the gun of nationalism and patriotism pressed against your skull. And the big question remains: if not Gabbar, then who?
