Petrol, diesel to get cheaper in Maharashtra as CM Eknath Shinde announces tax cut

The Maharashtra Government will reduce value-added tax (VAT) on fuel soon, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde informed the state Assembly on Monday.A decision to reduce VAT on fuel will be taken in the state cabinet, Shinde informed the House, while replying to a debate after he won the floor test.He also took to Twitter to announce the same.In Mumbai, the price of petrol currently stands at Rs 111.35 per litre and that of diesel is at Rs 97.28 per litre. The Maharashtra government had also cut the state-imposed tax on petrol and diesel by Rs 2.08 per litre and Rs 1.44 per litre at the end of May, reports CNN-News18The move had come after the central government on 21 May announced a tax reduction on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and on diesel by Rs 6 per litre. Union Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman had also urged the states to follow the suit by cutting state levies on the vehicle fuels.Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday comfortably won a crucial confidence vote in the state Assembly, cementing his grip on power five days after assuming office with the BJP support following a revolt in the Shiv Sena.In his maiden speech in the Assembly after winning the trust vote, an emotional Shinde, without naming the Shiv Sena, said he had been "suppressed" for a long time and spoke about how he almost became chief minister of the erstwhile Sena-NCP-Congress alliance government.He said the rebellion led by him last month was a fallout of the "unfair treatment" meted out to him, an apparent reference to his decades old association with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.In the 288-member Assembly (effective strength 287), 164 MLAs voted for the motion of confidence moved by the Shinde-led government, way above the simple majority mark of 144, while 99 voted against it on the last day of the two-day special session of the House. As many as 263 MLAs cast their vote.With input from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.