The Opposition on Tuesday lashed out in the Rajya Sabha at the government’s decision to ask state-owned oil companies to raise the price of cooking gas by Rs 4 per month. The price rise is part of an effort to end the Liquefied Petroleum Gas subsidy, reported PTI.
The matter was raised by Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien, who gave notice under Rule 267, which seeks to set aside any other agenda for the day to discuss an important issue. During Zero Hour, Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandopadhyay said the increase in price would affect over 2.5 crore women who have been given an LPG connection for free. Congress MP KC Venugopal demanded that the decision be withdrawn immediately.
The Communist Party of India accused the Centre of accepting the “anti-people policies” of the World Trade Organisation. Revolutionary Socialist Party MP NK Premachandran claimed that the government was avoiding transparency by not announcing the decision, which he said had been taken in March.
MPs from the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Trinamool Congress and the Left all stormed into the Well of the House, demanding a rollback of the price rise. Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien then adjourned the proceedings, first for 10 minutes and then till noon.
Union Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had on Monday said that the government had asked state-owned oil firm to increase LPG prices by Rs 4 per cylinder every month, so that LPG subsidy could be reduced to nil by March 2018.
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