The State Government and the ruling BJD on Tuesday strongly opposed the decision of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry to hike lPG prices by Rs4 per cylinder every month and to end all subsidies on the cooking gas by the end of March, 2017.
The BJD MPs protested against the decision in the Rajya Sabha along with other opposition parties.
Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Surjya Narayan Patro alleged that the Central Government has cheated people after it had provided subsidy in some States in view of elections.
He termed the decision of the Central Government as unfortunate and said he would write a letter demanding rollback of the decision. The BJD would approach the people and hold demonstrations against it, added Patro.
The BJD women’s wing also announced to hold a State-wide stir to protest against the decision. Senior Congress leader and leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra also lashed out at the BJP, saying they have done a PhD in fraud. Earlier, they had said they would provide free lPG to the poor, said Mishra.
The Samajwadi Party also criticised the decision. Party State president Rabi Behera said the decision of price hike of monthly Rs4 would lead to an annual increase of Rs48 per cylinder. Such a step is anti-women and anti-poor, he said. However, Union PNG Minister Dharmendra Pradhan clarified that there would be no subsidy cut for the lPG cylinders being provided to the poor.