Tamil Nadu villagers ask Nirmala Sitharaman to reduce LPG prices
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday visited Pazhaiyaseevaram village in Tamil Nadu's Kanchipuram district and interacted with the residents, asking them whether they received benefits from the government. On this, a group of homemakers reportedly surrounded Sitharaman, requesting her to reduce the price of cooking gas. She, however, told them the price is not decided by the Centre but by the international markets.
Why does this story matter?
With this visit, Sitharaman kicked off the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s "wall to wall" campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. To note, commercial as well as domestic LPG cylinders became dearer in India last month for the second time since the beginning of this year. Last year, the prices were raised four times as the Russia-Ukraine crisis disrupted global crude oil prices.
India doesn't produce cooking gas, but imports: Sitharaman
Sitharaman on Monday reportedly told the village residents that India doesn't produce cooking gas but imports it. Thus, the price is dependent on fluctuations in the global market, she said, noting that the same hasn't fallen significantly in the last two years. Minister of State L Murugan, the first Union minister from the Arunthathiyar community, accompanied Sitharaman on the visit to the Pazhaiyaseevaram village.
Price hasn't fallen much in 2 years: Sitharaman
Warrior Moms wrote to Sitharaman earlier this year
In January this year, Warrior Moms—a national citizen action group—also wrote to Sitharaman urging her to make cooking gas cheaper. The letter stated that although the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) provided subsidized LPG connections to over eight crore households, it was insufficient for millions of households. It said underprivileged households still depended on firewood and dung cake, which is hazardous for their health.
Sitharaman pulled up collector over PM Modi's photo
To recall, in September 2022, Telangana's ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) reportedly put posters of PM Narendra Modi on LPG cylinders as a dig at the BJP's failure in controlling rising prices. This came after Sitharaman rebuked the Kamareddy district magistrate on the absence of Modi's photo at the government-run fair price shops saying that the Centre was supplying subsidized ration to the poor.
