Cooking gas LPG price on Wednesday, July 6, was hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder, the eighth increase in rates in the last year that took the cumulative rise to Rs 244. Non-subsidised LPG now costs Rs 1,053 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi, up from Rs 1,003 previously, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. Prices have similarly gone up across cities, with a cylinder now costing Rs 1068.50 in Chennai, Rs 1105 in Hyderabad, and Rs 1055.50 in Bengaluru.
Firming international energy prices have led to non-subsidised cooking gas (LPG) prices being increased on eight occasions in the past year. In all, rates have gone up by Rs 244 per cylinder or 30%. Common households pay non-subsidised rates for the cooking gas they buy after the government restricted subsidy to poor beneficiaries who got connections under the Ujjwala scheme.
This is the fourth increase in the LPG rate since the Ukraine war. The price was hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder on March 22 and again by the same quantum on May 7. Rates went up by Rs 3.50 per cylinder on May 19. Of the Rs 244 per cylinder hike in the past year, Rs 153.50 increase happened since March 2022.
Working president of ruling TRS in Telangana K T Rama Rao on Wednesday criticised the NDA government over the hike in LPG price. “#AchheDin Aa Gaye Badhai Ho #LPG over Rs 1050 An increase again of Rs 50 Modi Ji's Gift to all Indian Households,” KTR, son of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, tweeted.
#AchheDin Aa Gaye Badhai Ho #LPG over ₹1050 An increase again of ₹50
— KTR (@KTRTRS) July 6, 2022
Modi Ji’s Gift to all Indian Households https://t.co/BknwJ2zNfi
Opposition Congress termed the increase "anti-people" decision and asked if this is the "cost" of toppling the Maharashtra government. In a tweet in Hindi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the BJP spoke of the welfare of the poor at its national executive meeting while imposing a 5 per cent "Gabbar Singh Tax (GST)" on flour, cereals, curd and paneer, and then broke the back of the poor and middle class by increasing the price of domestic cooking gas by Rs 50. The Opposition party vowed to hit the streets against the "Modi-made inflation" and run a people's movement over price rise.
Meanwhile, women leaders of the Congress held a protest at BJP's Telangana headquarters in Hyderabad against the increase in the LPG price. The NDA government has put an immense burden on common households, State Congress women's wing president Sunitha Rao said.