Shri Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “Modi government has today electrocuted the budget of the common man. Modi government has today attacked the budget of India’s women. Modi government with one stroke of pen has increased the price of gas cylinder by Rs. 144 taking the price of non-subsidized gas cylinder to Rs. 858.50. I want to remind Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, who came to power promising almost zero inflation that when Congress demitted power on 16th May, 2014, a non-subsidized cylinder’s price was only Rs. 414. It is Rs. 858.50 today i.e. an increase of over 100% in less than 5-1/2 years. If you use 12 cylinders in a year, onlythen based on the current increase of Rs. 144, the additional outflow from every woman’s and every person’s budget will be Rs. 5,334. The subsidized cylinder on 16th May, 2014, was only Rs. 414; it is Rs. 567 today i.e. an increase of Rs. 151 per cylinder, if you use 12 cylinders, then this price also goes up by almost Rs. 2,000. Not only this, if you calculate, there are 25.21 crore consumers in this country and if they consume only 12 cylinders, then the hike of Rs. 144 per cylinder would lead to an outflow of Rs. 43,562 crores annually. Modi Ji you have pocketed today with one stroke of pen from the pockets of common man – Rs. 43,562 crores. Who is accountable for it? You did not put it in the budget, but, you surreptitiously through backdoor today has increased quietly the rate of the gas cylinder. Not only this, in the budget 2020-21 the food subsidy has been slashed by Rs. 68,650 crores. These two figurers come to around Rs. 1,10,000 crores from the pockets of common Indians. On one side they are plagued by runaway food inflation and other inflation and on the other side you heap upon them the food subsidy cut of nearly Rs. 69,000 crores and take out from their pockets almost Rs. 43,562 crores by increasing the LPG prices – who is accountable? People will be forced to go back to kerosene and Modi Ji now even does not want that people should now go to kerosene oil for he has slashed the kerosene subsidy of the poor by Rs. 3,659 crores.

We want to remind Prime Minister Modi and the BJP that in 2014 when we demitted the power, the price of onion was Rs. 17 per Kg., it is Rs. 74 a Kg. even today. The price of tomato was Rs. 16 a Kg., it is Rs. 35 a Kg. today, the price of potatoes in 2014 was Rs. 15 a Kg., it is Rs. 28 a Kg. today and the cooking oil is Rs. 135 a litre. People cannot even now dream to have ‘lehsun’ and ‘jeera’ in their food for it is beyond their means.

We demand this, on behalf of Indian National Congress, that as the price of the international crude oil have fallen, why should there be such surreptitious and uncalled for increase in the price of gas cylinder. This increase in the price of gas cylinder should immediately be rolled back. Wednesday, 12th February, 2020