NEW DELHI: The women’s wing of the Congress in Delhi on Monday held a protest at Connaught Place against the rise in the price of cooking gas cylinders. Addressing the media, Delhi Pradesh Mahila Congress (DPMC) chief Amrita Dhawan, who led the protest, lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi for putting “burdens” on the consumers in the time of Covid-19 pandemic.
She said the Congress will hold demonstrations against the price hike in five municipal wards where by-polls are taking place. The press conference jointly addressed by Dhawan and former Delhi MLA Alka Lamba.
They said the Delhi government should immediately reduce the VAT on petrol and alleged that “both the governments are keeping their mouth shut while prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas have gone through the roof”.
“The Narendra Modi government has, so far, collected Rs 20 lakh crore as excise duty from the sale of petrol and diesel but not sparing the people from the tax burden even during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Dhawan.
The price of 14.2 kg LPG cylinder in the city has increased by Rs 50 per unit. This is the second hike in the price of cooking gas this month. Earlier, the price of non-subsidised LPG cylinders was increased by Rs 25 per cylinder in metro cities on February 4.
“Since December last year, the cooking gas price has increased from Rs 594 to Rs 769 per cylinder. When the Congress was in power in 2014, a cooking gas cylinder cost just Rs 414. But now, people have to shell out Rs 769. CM Arvind Kejriwal’s silence is more deafening. He has not spoken out even once on the issue,” said Lamba.