‘Poll lollipops’ won’t work after looting people: Congress on LPG price cut

The Congress on Tuesday (August 29) termed the slash in LPG prices by the Centre as an “electoral lollipop” and said people should expect more such “gifts” as Prime Minister Narendra Modi becomes “even more desperate to cling on to his chair”.

The Opposition also said the price slash is the result of BJP’s rout in the Karnataka polls and two “highly successful” INDIA bloc meetings.

The government on Tuesday announced a Rs 200-per-cylinder cut in prices of domestic cooking gas, as it looked to counter the promise of cheaper LPG made by the Congress in upcoming Assembly elections in states such as Madhya Pradesh.

Kharge’s tweet

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to X (Twitter) that “when the votes start decreasing, the election gifts start getting distributed”.

“The merciless Modi government, which looted the hard-earned money of the people, is now showing feigned goodwill towards mothers and sisters,” he wrote in Hindi.

“For nine and a half years, by selling 400-rupee LPG cylinders for Rs 1,100, they kept destroying the lives of the common people,” Kharge said, asking, “why didn’t any ‘affectionate gift’ come to mind then?”

“The BJP government should know that after torturing 140 crore Indians for nine and a half years, handing over ‘electoral lollipops’ will not work. Your sins of a decade will not be washed away,” he added.

“To counter the backbreaking inflation implemented by the BJP, the Congress party for the first time in many states is going to do only Rs 500 cylinders for the poor. Many states, such as Rajasthan, have already implemented this,” he wrote.

“The Modi government should know that in 2024, the anger of the troubled people of the country cannot be reduced by a subsidy of Rs 200. The fear of INDIA (alliance) is good, Modi ji,” he said.

“The public has made up its mind. The only option is to show the exit door to the BJP to beat inflation,” Kharge said.

BJP “clutching at straws”

Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said three months before the five state elections, where the “BJP is staring at certain defeat”, and six months before the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is literally clutching at straws.

“A sudden slash in LPG prices by Mr Modi. Why now, you may ask? Yeh hai kissa ‘demokursi’ ka,” Ramesh wrote on X.

Ramesh attributed the Centre’s sudden change of heart to the “Karnataka rout”, “two highly successful INDIA meetings”, and the Congress government’s implementation of five guarantees in Karnataka.

“The Congress government in Rajasthan is giving LPG cylinders at Rs 500. The response has been phenomenal, as people were hurting from BJP’s misgovernance,” Ramesh added, saying the BJP was now “clutching at straws”.

“Expect more such ‘gifts’ in the coming months as the Prime Minister becomes even more desperate to cling on to his chair,” he added.

“Looted 31.37 crore people”

Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala said the Modi government has raised LPG prices and “looted 31.37 crore people in the past nine and a half years. It has looted over Rs 8.33 lakh crore from people’s pockets, he alleged.

In the Ujjwala scheme alone, profits worth Rs 68,702.76 crore were taken out of women’s pockets since 2017, according to official data, he claimed.

“With elections nearing, the Modi government has remembered giving gifts to mothers and sisters of the country,” he said.

TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is part of the INDIA bloc, tweeted, “Till now, only TWO meetings have been held in the past TWO months by the INDIA alliance and today, we see that LPG prices have gone down by Rs 200.”

Change from today

At present, a 14.2-kg LPG cylinder in the national capital costs Rs 1,103 — more than double the rate it came for in May 2020. It will cost Rs 903 when the Centre’s decision is implemented from Wednesday.

For Ujjwala beneficiaries, the price will be Rs 703 after considering the continuing Rs 200 per cylinder subsidy.

Announcing the decision, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the move is aimed at providing relief to households.

Also, the government will provide an additional 75 lakh Ujjwala connections, which will take the total PMUY beneficiaries to 10.35 crore.