government-s-lpg-price-cut-criticised-as-political-ploy-by-tmc

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent announcement of a reduction in LPG cylinder prices, condemning it as the "height of political cynicism" ahead of the impending Lok Sabha elections.

 

The ruling party in West Bengal dismissed the price reduction as a mere "token cut" and labeled it a "cheap political stunt" orchestrated weeks before the general elections. 

 

PM Modi has on Friday, declared a Rs 100 per cylinder cut in cooking gas LPG prices to alleviate the financial burden on households.

 

Today, on Women's Day, our Government has decided to reduce LPG cylinder prices by Rs. 100. This will significantly ease the financial burden on millions of households across the country, especially benefiting our Nari Shakti.

By making cooking gas more affordable, we also aim…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 8, 2024

 

In response to the announcement, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose ridiculed the Prime Minister, remarking that the nation requires a leader (pradhan mantri), but instead, has been presented with an "election manager" (election mantri).

 

Just a few days before #GeneralElection2024 the Modi government cuts LPG prices. Why could this have not been done earlier when women consumers were labouring under high LPG prices even when global prices were low? Now when elections are around the corner, down come LPG prices.… pic.twitter.com/7EW9IR3WWD

— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) March 8, 2024

 

TMC MP Saket Gokhale criticised Modi's emphasis on 'Nari Shakti' (women power), asserting that it appears limited to election campaigning rather than addressing ongoing issues such as high LPG prices.

 

Santanu Sen, spokesperson for the TMC, dismissed the move as a mere "election gimmick" orchestrated by the BJP.

 

Meanwhile, CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty acknowledged that the reduction would provide some relief to the people, but criticised the saffron party for previous hikes in LPG cylinder prices.

 

This reduction marks the second instance of cooking gas price reduction in six months. 

 

Earlier, rates were slashed by Rs 200 per cylinder just before assembly elections in five states, including Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.