The Narendra Modi government had withdrawn all safety nets that the Congress had put in place to protect the common man, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, reacting to the further hike in Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders for domestic use.
The Centre on Saturday increased the price by ₹50. With the latest revision, a 14.2-kg non-subsidised LPG cylinder will now cost ₹999.50 in Delhi. This is the second increase in two months. The last hike was on March 22, when the price was increased by ₹50. On May 1, the price of the commercial LPG cylinder was hiked by ₹102.50.
Mr. Gandhi, in a post on Facebook, stated that during the UPA government, the price of a LPG cylinder was ₹414, since the government extended a subsidy of ₹827 a cylinder. That subsidy had been withdrawn by this government. “The Modi government has removed all safety nets that Congress had put in place to protect the common man. Today, millions of Indian households are waging a difficult battle against extreme Inflation, unemployment, and poor governance, The Congress party would have never let this happen. We have and always will support families in need,” he said.
‘Attack on every single household’
Addressing a press conference, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera described the hike as an attack on every single household of the country. He said that the Congress, till it was in power, ensured that the burden of high prices did not fall on the middle-class or the poor. In 2012-13, the subsidy bill on LPG was ₹ 39,558 crore, and in the last financial year of the UPA government in 2013-14, the subsidy on LPG went up to ₹46,458 crore.
The latest round of hike comes when the country was going through a disastrous economic phase with high inflation and equally high unemployment rate, Mr. Khera stated. He noted that as per the World Bank, 14 million persons have been added to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category. The hike in the rate of cylinders for commercial use that was revised on May 1 will have a ripple effect on the prices of other commodities. “Either you have no understanding of how to run a country, how to govern a country. Of course, that’s not even a question any more, everybody is watching the way you falter, but, a country which has given you so much of recognition, two victories, you owe it to the country, that when the country needs relief, you should be there to give that relief,” he observed.
CPI general secretary D. Raja said the government seemed to have given a free-hand to the oil marketing companies who were hiking prices at their whims and fancies. “The government is callous and insensitive towards the sufferings of the common people,” he added.
