Gas cylinder for Rs 500 in Rajasthan for poor: Gehlot's big announcement

The Rajasthan government will provide cooking gas cylinders at Rs 500 for people under the poverty line, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Monday in a big-ticket announcement ahead of next year’s assembly elections.

The new category of beneficiaries will include those living below the poverty line who have received cooking gas connections under the Ujjwala scheme.

The chief minister made the announcement in presence of senior party leader Rahul Gandhi. In an implicit criticism of the BJP, he said his government would provide 12 cylinders a year to each of these families at less than half price.

The current price of domestic cooking gas cylinders in Rajasthan is Rs 1,050. The government will provide the subsidy directly to the state-owned retailers, Gehlot said.

Also read: Rahul to Gehlot in Rajasthan: “Two-three things” that need to be done

Scheme from April 1

“We are creating a category where domestic cooking gas cylinders worth Rs 1,050 will be given to the people in this category for Rs 500 after April 1, 2023,” he said at a public meeting. “Next month we will present the budget, in which we will bring a plan to distribute kitchen kits to reduce the inflation burden.”

The announcement is seen as Gehlot’s signal to Team Pilot that his position is secure and he will present next year’s election budget and lead from the front.

Assembly polls are due in Rajasthan next year and the Congress is going all out to win a second consecutive term in the state.

Rahul Gandhi, who was in Alwar, praised the achievements of Gehlot’s government, with a special mention of the 1,700 English medium schools the state government has opened.

Chhattisgarh may follow

After Rajasthan, the Chhattisgarh government is also likely to make a similar announcement. Both Congress ruled, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh will elect new assemblies in December 2023.

Also read: Gehlot-Pilot tussle in Rajasthan: Congress says all is well

The government’s decision is expected to provide a fresh impetus to the debate over freebies and subsidy, which so far had been directed at Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party.

The matter is pending in the Supreme Court, which, during a hearing in August, suggested that an all-party discussion be held on it.