LPG Cylinder Prices Slashed by Rs 200: PM Modi’s Rakhi, Onam Gift Fuels ‘Poll Fest’ Talk
LPG Cylinder Prices Slashed by Rs 200: PM Modi’s Rakhi, Onam Gift Fuels ‘Poll Fest’ Talk
LPG cylinder prices slashed: Citizens will now get a cylinder for around Rs 900, while the nearly 9.6 crore PM Ujjwala beneficiaries will get a cylinder for around Rs 700. The move comes before the polls in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, MP and Telangana

The PM Narendra Modi-led government has taken the big step of cutting the LPG cylinder prices for all by Rs 200, meaning citizens will now get a cylinder for around Rs 900, while the nearly 9.6 crore PM Ujjwala scheme beneficiaries will get a cylinder for around Rs 700, as they earlier got the Rs-200 subsidy. This was described as a Raksha Bandhan and Onam gift.

News18 was the first to report on August 18 that the government could soon cut LPG cylinder prices, which had reached a record high of Rs 1,103. These high LPG prices were hurting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in state elections and women voters, who have backed the BJP in a big way, were not happy. High LPG prices were also seen as the reason behind the BJP’s losses in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh.

The move comes before the crucial state elections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. At least 75 lakh new PM Ujjwala beneficiaries will also be added to the 9.6 crore existing beneficiaries, the government announced.

PM Modi posted on X: “The festival of Raksha Bandhan is a day to increase happiness in our family. The reduction in gas prices will increase the comfort of the sisters in my family and make their lives easier. May every sister of mine be happy, be healthy, be happy, this is my wish from God."

HITTING ON ALL CYLINDERS

The LPG prices have nearly doubled over the past three years. The Opposition-ruled states, too, targeted the Centre on the high LPG cylinder prices, making the situation uncomfortable for the BJP.

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot has already started giving LPG cylinders for Rs 500, with the state footing the rest of the cost. Former CM Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh announced that LPG cylinders will be provided at Rs 500 if the Congress comes to power in the state later this year.

Following suit, MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced two days ago that he would also give an LPG cylinder at Rs 450 as a rakhi gift.

WILL COST MODI GOVT Rs 7,680 crore A YEAR

Nearly 9.6 crore PM Ujjwala beneficiaries, who get a Rs-200 subsidy on an LPG cylinder, will get a cylinder at Rs 700. Everyone else will now get a cylinder at Rs 903. This move will benefit the poor families in the country, who avail the PM Ujjwala Yojana as well as the middle-class, which takes up a non-subsidised LPG cylinder every month.

The move will cost the government Rs 7,680 crore a year and will benefit 33 crore people, Union I&B Minister Anurag Thakur said. Both Thakur and Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri, however, denied that the move had anything to do with the upcoming state elections.

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