NEW DELHI, Mar 10: The Lok Sabha today witnessed a verbal clash after the opposition members accused the government of burdening the poor by hiking prices of oil products, especially non-subsidised cooking gas cylinders.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, while responding to the issue raised by Leader of Congress Mallikarjun Kharge, accused him of “misleading” the House.
Terming the increase of Rs 86 for each non-subsidised LPG cylinder as a “small hike”, he said only 1.1 crore people, out of the total of 91.7 crore people having LPG connections, will pay the increased price and the poor were not affected by it.
Members of the Congress and the Trinamool Congress later staged a walk-out, protesting the Government’s stand.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Kharge said the hike of Rs 86 in the non-subsidised cylinders on March 1 was the highest ever.
He said Modi government’s tenure has been marked by a rise in prices of essential items.
“Its price in 2016 was Rs 467 and it has been hiked by six times since. It is Rs 737 today. It goes on to show how much burden this government is putting on the poor. The Modi government claims having given facilities to the poor but statistics tell a different picture,” he said.
In 2012, the crude oil price in the international market was USD 122 per barrel and the LPG cylinder sold at Rs 345 while petrol and diesel cost Rs 58 and 37, respectively, Kharge said.
In 2016, when the crude oil price was 33 USD, an LPG cylinder cost Rs 513 and petrol and diesel Rs 56 and Rs 46, respectively, he said.
N K Premachandran (RSP) said the hike of Rs 271 for an LPG cylinder was “unheard of” and accused the government of not passing on the benefits of the fall in international oil price to the consumers.
Some other opposition members supported them.
K C Venugopal (Cong) said the government had cheated over 1 crore people who had reportedly given up their LPG subsidy.
Rebutting the opposition’s charge, Kumar said over 1.1 crore consumers have voluntarily given up their LPG subsidies on the Prime Minister’s “appeal” and the rest of the total 91.7 crore consumers have not been affected by the hike. (PTI)
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