In a welcome move for consumers across the nation, the Union Cabinet announced a significant reduction in the price of the 14.2 kg LPG cooking gas cylinder on Tuesday. This price cut of ₹200 comes as a special gesture to celebrate the upcoming festivals of Raksha Bandhan and Onam. The announcement was made by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, Anurag Thakur, who stated that this reduction is a gift extended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the women of the country.
Currently priced at around ₹1,100 per cylinder, the cost of a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder will now be reduced to ₹900, effective from Wednesday. This decision by the government aims to alleviate the financial burden on households, particularly given the festive season.
The price reduction isn’t limited to just the general public; it extends to the beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) as well. Under this scheme, which provides LPG connections to women from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, the price of a cylinder will now be ₹703. It is noteworthy that in March this year, the government had already extended a subsidy of ₹200 per LPG cylinder for beneficiaries under the PM Ujjwala scheme. Moreover, Anurag Thakur shared that the government is planning to distribute 75 lakh new LPG connections free of cost through the Ujjwala scheme, which currently supports 9.6 crore beneficiaries.
However, following the announcement of the price reduction in gas cylinders by the Central government, social media witnessed a surge in demands from Tamil Nadu residents for gas subsidies as promised by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in their 2021 election manifesto. An old video resurfaced featuring DMK leader MK Stalin vowing to provide a ₹100 per cylinder subsidy once the party came into power.
சிலிண்டருக்கு ₹100 குறைப்போம் என சொன்ன முதல்வர் ஏன் செய்யவில்லை ? pic.twitter.com/UfRK1hWBrp
— Selva Kumar (@Selvakumar_IN) August 29, 2023
The 2021 election manifesto of DMK about gas cylinders states, “The central government has been excessively increasing the prices of domestic cooking gas cylinders, which puts a significant burden on the poor and middle-class people. DMK urges the central government to eliminate the GST tax on cooking gas to ease the burden on the poor and middle class. We promise to provide a monthly subsidy of Rs 100 per cylinder to every family cardholder.”
With over 2 years having passed since taking office, the DMK government’s failure to deliver the pledged subsidy has attracted criticism and negative attention. Interestingly, it’s important to note the linguistic shift in the manifesto. The DMK, which had been using the term ‘Maththiya Arasu’ (Central government) instead of ‘Ondriya Arasu’ (Union Government) – a term with secessionist undertones – in its 2021 manifesto, has discontinued this nomenclature after coming to power in 2021.
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