E20 petrol should cost ₹70 per litre & diesel prices should also be reduced accordingly: Arvind Kejriwal
New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday called out the BJP-led Central Government over fuel prices, asserting that people are being forced to pay inflated rates despite a sharp fall in global crude oil prices. Citing his calculations, he revealed that while pure petrol should be available at ₹82 per litre and E20-blended petrol at around ₹70 per litre, the government continues to sell E20 petrol at ₹102 per litre.
Highlighting the unjustified burden on the public, the AAP Chief emphasised that lower petrol and diesel prices would directly reduce inflation by bringing down transportation costs. He also rejected the Centre’s justification that oil companies are recovering wartime losses, pointing out that the companies have earned bumper profits, including ₹77,000 crore in the last financial year, and exposed the government for using the war as an excuse to make people pay more.
Addressing a press conference, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal stated, “The price of crude oil in the international market has fallen from around $115 per barrel in months of February, March and April to $70 per barrel now. Despite this, petrol in our country was priced at ₹102 per litre in May and it continues to remain at ₹102 per litre even today. That too is E20-blended petrol. If crude oil prices have fallen, petrol prices in our country should also come down.”
Explaining, the AAP Supremo stated, “Our calculations show that petrol in India should now cost ₹82 per litre. In fact, it should be even cheaper. Pure petrol should be available at ₹82 per litre, not E20 petrol.”
Detailing the calculation, he revealed, “At the current crude oil price of $70 per barrel, if it is converted into rupees using the exchange rate, the cost of crude oil comes to ₹42 per litre. On top of that, I have kept all other charges constant. I have not reduced any of them. Refining, OMC margin and transportation together come to ₹9 per litre. Central taxes are ₹12 per litre. I have taken the average state VAT at 25%, which comes to ₹16 per litre, and dealer commission is ₹3 per litre. Adding all these together, pure petrol should be available in our country at ₹82 per litre. If it is sold as E20 petrol, then I believe its price should come down to around ₹70. Today, E20 petrol is being sold at ₹102 per litre.”
Speaking about diesel prices, the AAP Chief added, “Similarly, we can calculate the price of diesel as well. Diesel prices can also be reduced. If petrol and diesel prices come down, it will deliver a major blow to inflation. People will get significant relief from rising prices because petrol and diesel affect transportation. If transportation becomes cheaper, the prices of all goods will come down.”
Rejecting the government’s justification, Arvind Kejriwal said, “The government may argue, as I have heard Union Minister Hardeep Puri saying, that oil companies suffered losses during the war in the Middle East and they now need to recover those losses by making profits. This argument is completely wrong.”
Questioning the government’s stand, he continued, “Since 2014, international crude oil prices have fallen significantly six times. Even then, whenever crude oil prices came down, the government did not reduce petrol prices in the country. During those periods, when they earned bumper profits, what happened to that money? Can they not use those profits to compensate for the limited losses suffered during the three or four months of the war?”
Referring to oil company profits, the AAP Supremo stated, “It has been reported that oil companies made a profit of ₹77,000 crore last year. They have been making bumper profits for the past three to four years. Can’t those profits be used to offset the losses? They certainly can. Therefore, the ₹102 per litre being charged from people today is far too high. On behalf of the people of this country, I demand that the government immediately make pure petrol available at ₹82 per litre. If it wants to sell E20 petrol, then its price should be even lower.”
Arvind Kejriwal further shared, “Last year oil companies made a profit of ₹77,000 crore. In 2024-25, they made a profit of ₹33,000 crore. In 2023-24, they made a profit of ₹80,000 crore. Together, these three figures amount to nearly ₹2 lakh crore in profits. Now the government is saying that because oil companies suffered some losses for three or four months, they will earn bumper profits. Then where did the ₹2 lakh crore go? Can’t they set it off?”
Calling the present pricing unjustified, the AAP Chief emphasised, “This is business. Sometimes there are profits and sometimes there are losses. That does not mean they can extract unjustified profits from the public. What is being charged from people today is an unjustified profit. The government should immediately reduce fuel prices and stop giving false and misleading arguments.”
