Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has remained non-committal on cutting excise duty to cushion spiralling petrol and diesel prices saying international oil prices are volatile and have not shown any linear movement.
Talking to reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday, Mr. Jaitley said, India is a net buyer of oil and is adversely impacted when rates go up temporarily.
He defended criticism that he and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as opposition leaders had mounted attacks against the previous UPA government on the issue.
The Minister added that the inflation during those times was in double-digit and they would have failed in their duties if they had not criticized the government of the time for its failure to curb fuel prices contributing to further price rise.
