Congress jabs BJP: Is hiking LPG cylinder prices revenge for crushing defeat in Delhi polls

The Congress on Thursday demanded that the government should rollback the LPG cylinder price hike and wondered if the increase in prices of cooking gas was "revenge" for the saffron party's crushing defeat in the Delhi polls.

The Mahila Congress held a protest against the steep LPG price hike and submitted a memorandum to the government demanding a rollback of the increased prices.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also took a dig at the BJP over the price hike by tweeting a UPA-era picture of the saffron party's leaders protesting an increase in prices of cooking gas at the time.

"I agree with these members of the BJP as they protest the astronomical 150 Rs price hike in LPG cylinders," Gandhi tweeted along with the picture of the protesting BJP leaders, including Smriti Irani.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes great pride in the fact that crores of people gave up their LPG cylinder subsidy for the poor and now affording non-subsidised cylinders has become extremely difficult for the citizens, Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev said in a statement.

"It is more shocking that within 24 hours of the Delhi election results (December 11), the BJP government increased prices of gas (LPG). Is this revenge for their crushing defeat?" she asked.

All state units of the Mahila Congress held a protest against the price hike and submitted a memorandum addressed to prime minister with a demand to rollback the hike in price of LPG cylinder.

It comes as a surprise that the BJP leaders who held shrill press meets when they were in opposition to protest against the rising prices during the UPA government are today silent, Dev said.

It is also shocking that when the entire country is reeling under the shock of economic crisis and unemployment, the price of a basic commodity like LPG cylinders has been hiked, she said.

The Congress is against this steep hike and the Mahila Congress has put forth the demand of rolling back the price rise to give relief to the common citizens, the Mahila Congress chief said.

A delegation of women leaders including Dev, Alka Lamba, Priyanka Singh, Amarlata Sangwan and Radhika Khera, went to meet Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to submit a memorandum demanding the rollback of the hike in the price of LPG gas cylinder by almost Rs 150, the Congress said.

The delegation was stopped at the gate of the Shastri Bhawan by security personnel and its members staged a protest to demand a meeting with Pradhan on this issue, it claimed.

After two hours of protest, the delegation was allowed to submit their memorandum to the office of the minister, the party said.

-PTI

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