New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday attacked the government over the rise in prices of domestic LPG cylinders and asked why the people of the country were being made to bear the consequences of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign policy “failures”.
In a post on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the price of domestic LPG cylinders has been hiked by Rs 60 and claimed that a profit of Rs 115 is earned in commercial LPG.
“First, the benefits of lower international prices were snatched from the public. Now, the people who are already burdened due to inflation are being made to sweat. The Modi government, which boasts ‘sab changa si’ (all is well) when war breaks out, is helpless in providing adequate oil-gas, fertilizer,” he said.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said the Modi government had earlier said that there was sufficient supply and the America-Israel-Iran war would have no impact on the country’s energy security. But then, in one swift move, they hiked LPG prices, she said.
She claimed Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had already warned that this war would have a deep impact on India.
“Our energy supply comes from Gulf countries. If that gets disrupted, it will have an adverse effect on our economy. The finance ministry’s monthly report is also saying the same. This is a failure of our foreign policy.
“Even if the Strait of Hormuz is opened, it’s only for Russian and Chinese ships. If it were opened for India too, prices wouldn’t have risen this much,” she claimed.
Shrinate claimed that diesel and petrol prices would also rise in future.
“Why should the people of the country bear the consequences of Narendra Modi’s and his ministers’ failures?” she asked.
Mahila Congress workers staged a rally in Delhi against the LPG price hike.
The Mahila Congress said the Modi government’s decision is adding to the harassment of the public, which is already bearing the brunt of inflation. It demanded that the Modi government immediately withdraw this “anti-people” decision.
The price of domestic cooking gas LPG was on Saturday hiked by a steep Rs 60 per cylinder, the second increase in less than a year, as the spike in global energy rates following the West Asia crisis weighed on the world’s third largest energy consumer.
Top government sources, however, were quick to state that an increase in petrol and diesel prices was not in the offing as state-owned oil firms had enough financial muscle to absorb the warranted increase.
Non-subsidised LPG — the one that common households use in kitchens — will now cost Rs 913 per 14.2 kg cylinder in Delhi as against Rs 853 previously, according to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) website.
