New Delhi, Jul 2 (IANS): Delhi Congress chief Anil Kumar has written to all MPs and MLAs from Delhi across parties, to rise above narrow political considerations to join hands with the Congress to prevail upon the Modi government at the Centre and the AAP government in Delhi to reduce the excise duty and VAT on petrol and diesel.

Kumar said that "petrol and diesel are selling at over Rs 80 per litre in Delhi, and for the first time in history, diesel has become costlier than petrol, as the central government has imposed an excise duty of almost Rs 32 and the Delhi government is charging almost Rs 18 per litre as VAT (Value Added Tax)".

He said that the frequent hikes in the prices of petrol and diesel (23 times in June alone) has had a cascading effect on the prices of other essential commodities as the cost of transportation has steeply gone up and the common people have been hemmed in from all sides.

He said that the diesel price rise has adversely affected the farmers, transporters, businessmen and the common people, and both the central and Delhi governments are not taking any steps to reduce the prices.

Anil Kumar in his letter reminded the elected representatives of both the BJP and the AAP that they have a moral obligation to protect the interest of the voters who have elected them to power and wondered why they were keeping a studied silence on the price hike.

Kumar said that if other political parties join hands with the Congress to request the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister to reduce the prices of petroleum products, then it would be of great benefit to the people of Delhi, as pressure from all quarters will force the Centre and Delhi government to reduce the prices.