The Congress on Wednesday alleged that the Narendra Modi government has not only launched an all-out attack on annadata s (farmers) but also on annapurna s (homemakers) with a ₹100 increase in the price cooking gas within a span of 15 days .
At an official briefing, party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said that increasing the price of LPG cylinders is the “most insensitive move when the economy is officially in recession”.
The Congress demanded an immediate rollback in the recent increase in LPG prices in order to give relief to the common people.
“Along with the annadatas [food givers], the annapurnas [homemakers] are also under attack. How much more will you make the country helpless?” Mr. Gandhi asked in a tweet in Hindi.
Ms. Shrinate argued that on May 16, 2014, when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in power, a subsidised LPG cylinder cost ₹412 but now it costs ₹595 for the same cylinder.
“This has not only upset the monthly budget of families but brought about huge pain to the poor, lower middle class and the middle class, who find it untenable to buy these cylinders,” she said.
“Any person who understands economics will understand and know that to spur up consumption, you have to lower prices. And in an economy like ours, where consumption forms 60% of our GDP, if you don’t spur consumption, no economy will recover,” she added.
The Congress spokesperson asserted that the government, which has already burdened common people by imposing steep taxes on petrol and diesel, was now adding to their woes.
“Data and reports suggest that a lot of rural women are back to burning fuels instead of LPG, and LPG cylinders have become a showpiece. There are States like Bihar, Assam and Meghalaya, where there is no access to clean fuel,” Ms. Shrinate said.
