Panaji, (IANS) : Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday blamed Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party for high petrol prices in the national capital.

“The cheapest petrol in the country is available in Goa at Rs 57, Rs 55 since yesterday. In Delhi, do you know how expensive it is? Rs 66. Petrol was cheaper in Delhi like it is in Goa, but the current government in Delhi raised the taxes,” Parrikar said at a meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party Scheduled Caste morcha meeting held in Porvorim, near here.

Parrikar was explaining about how the BJP-led coalition government in Goa, had managed to tide over a financial crisis, in view of the three-year ban on the mining in the state, and had still fulfilled populist pre-poll assurances and schemes, one of which was reducing the prices of petrol.

“We made petrol prices cheaper, implemented the schemes for the people. Due to this the government expenditure increased by around Rs 1,200 crore, while on the one hand (due to the mining ban) there was a shortfall of Rs 1,500 crore in revenue earning,” said the former Goa Chief Minister.