Opposition protest, question PM’s absence from House
Opposition MPs on Friday held a protest in the Parliament Complex over the LPG crisis issue, and raised slogans demanding answers from Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
TMC MPs started the protest around 10.30 am on Friday outside the Parliament building, holding posters, chanting “LPG crisis”, and raising slogans attacking the ruling BJP, questioning “where did the gas cylinders go?” They were joined by MPs from Congress and other INDIA bloc parties.
Opposition MPs also raised slogans accusing Prime Minister Modi of “vanishing” along with the gas cylinders, and accused him of “surrendering.”
“There’s an acute crisis of LPG in the country. People are panicking. You can see that even in Bengal, because systems are crashing at the main distributors, they’re resorting to manual bookings,” TMC MP Mahua Moitra said.
“You have families, old people, young parents standing in queue waiting to book their cylinders, and the Government is putting out this information that you can get your cylinders in two and a half days... We challenge the prime minister, challenge ministers to go and find out where people are getting their cylinders within two and a half days on booking,” she said.
She said the petroleum minister “lied to the country” and said that India has 75 days’ worth of supplies.
“Now they’ve invoked the Essential Commodities Act and said that there are barely 25 days. All we get are lies. And where is the prime minister? The prime minister has not come to the house for the last five days,” she said. “While this acute crisis is going on, he’s electioneering in Kerala; he’s become an election machine, not a prime minister. It’s really a shame,” Moitra added.
Some opposition MPs held large cut-outs of gas cylinders, while others held posters featuring cylinders and slogans. Chants of “Modi Ji-LPG” echoed as the INDIA bloc MPs attempted to corner the Government in unison.
The opposition has been demanding a full-fledged discussion on the West Asia situation and its impact on India. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi appealed to the people not to panic and assured them that public interest will be protected. He expressed confidence in tackling the LPG crisis, where the disruption in the supply of commercial LPG has crippled the country’s hotel sector.
