Gurudas Dasgupta takes on Veerappa Moily over gas pricing

The argument continues between Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily and veteran CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta over the controversial decision to increase gas prices.

Slamming Moily, Gurudas Dasgupta said the Petroleum Minister has violated the norms.

“Moily is trying to give undue benefit to corporate house. He has been bending laws and violating all norms. It is high over-pricing,” Gurudas said.

Gurudas Dasgupta had earlier written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Election commission, complaining against Moily for ordering that new gas prices to be implied for the April-June quarter soon after the poll code ends.

Dasgupta alleged that this order was against the norm and Moily did it to help a particular business house.

Moily, however, denied the accusation and said there was no EC violation as the April-June price was approved by the Cabinet and was notified on January 10.

Hitting out at Gurudas, Moily said it was an attempt to tarnish image of the Petroleum Ministry.

“Gurudas has been making false, baseless and misleading allegations against me frequently in the past and all those have been convincingly rebutted by me,” Moily said.

“The present allegation (of attempts to circumvent an Election Commission ban on raising gas prices) is also one in the series of such malicious campaign for the reasons best known to Gurudas Dasgupta and his accomplices, both inside and outside the ministry,” he said.

“Therefore, the allegation that this order on the file note sheet is in contravention to the Election Commission directive to favour any individual operator is completely baseless, malicious and misleading,” Moily added.

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