The Consortium of Indian Petroleum Dealers on Friday threatened to go on a nation-wide strike on November 15 if their demands for a higher commission were not met, PTI reported. The dealers, who have been on a two-day no-purchase strike since November 3, said fuel will be sold for a few hours on Saturday and not on Sundays or any other government holidays.

The consortium's joint secretary Rajiv Amaram said all 54,000 petrol pumps in India would support the strike on November 15 if the oil companies did not agree to their demands. Amaram said petroleum dealers refused to purchase more than 1,400 truckloads of petrol and diesel on November 3 and 4 in Telangana alone. He said, "We have stopped purchasing petroleum products yesterday and today,” the news agency reported.

The consortium is demanding the implementation of recommendations made by the Apoorva Chandra Committee in 2011, which suggests paying commissions of more than Rs 4 for petrol and about Rs 3 for diesel per litre. The United Progressive Alliance government had increased the commission on petrol to Rs 2.15 and diesel to Rs 1.28 from Rs 1 and Rs 0.70, respectively. Amaram said the dealers dues from 2011 were yet to be cleared.