LPG Price Slashed: BJP Calls It 'Gift' From PM Modi; Opposition Dubs It As 'Poll Gimmick'

As BJP-led Centre on Tuesday announced a Rs 200 per cylinder cut in prices of domestic cooking gas, ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections, leaders have reacted from across the pollical spectrum.

Announcing the decision, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said that this was done to provide relief to households.

Thakur also refused that the decision had anything to do with elections and dubbed it a “gift” from the Narendra Modi government to woman on the occasion of Onam and Raksha Bandhan.

This means means citizens will now get a cylinder for around Rs 900, while the nearly 9.6 crore PM Ujjwala scheme beneficiaries will get a cylinder for around Rs 700.

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

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

BJP National President JP Nadda expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the decision taken “under the chairmanship of PM Modi.”

“Modi ji’s gift to our women power on the auspicious occasion of Raksha Bandhan. This decision of Modi ji will benefit 33 crore consumers across the country,” Nadda wrote on X.

Union Minister Smriti Irani told CNN-News18 that she was “extremely grateful” to PM Modi for extending his support to the families.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also reacted to the announcement calling it PM Modi’s gift to his sisters on Raksha Bandhan.

“The government has also approved 75 lakh additional Ujjwala connections. This is a historic step by PM Modi,” Pradhan added.

On the other hand, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the Centre’s decision to slash the prices is an impact of the INDIA opposition alliance.

“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. Yeh hai #INDIA ka dum!” Banerjee said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh called this a “poll gimmick” ahead of the general elections.

News18 was the first to report on August 18 that the government could soon cut LPG cylinder prices, which had reached a record high of Rs 1,103.

These high LPG prices were hurting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in state elections and women voters, who have backed the BJP in a big way, were not happy. High LPG prices were also seen as the reason behind the BJP’s losses in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh.

The move comes before the crucial state elections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. At least 75 lakh new PM Ujjwala beneficiaries will also be added to the 9.6 crore existing beneficiaries, the government announced.