Vijayan criticises LPG price hike, calls it anti-people
Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, Pinarayi Vijayan, on Sunday criticised the latest hike in domestic LPG prices, alleging that it would further burden ordinary households already reeling under rising living costs.
In a statement, the CPI(M) veteran said the Centre should immediately withdraw what he called an “anti-people” decision to raise the price of domestic cooking gas cylinders by Rs 29.
He pointed out that this was the second increase in domestic LPG prices within three months, noting that the price of a 14.2-kg cylinder has now risen to Rs 951. The Centre had increased the price by Rs 60 per cylinder on March 7, he said.
Vijayan alleged that a series of decisions affecting people’s lives had followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent call for citizens to be prepared to make sacrifices.
The former chief minister also expressed concern over the impact of rising fuel prices on various sectors of the economy.
He claimed that the sharp increase in commercial LPG prices had pushed the hotel industry into crisis, while petrol and diesel prices had risen by a total of Rs 7.50 per litre since mid-May. CNG prices, too, had gone up by Rs 6 per kilogram, he said.
Calling for immediate intervention by the state Government, Vijayan urged it to take steps to provide relief to the public from escalating prices.
He also reiterated his demand that the State Government forego additional tax revenue from petroleum price hikes to shield people from the worsening inflationary burden.
Vijayan urged both the Centre and the State Government to review what he termed their “negative and anti-people” approach on the issue and take measures to ease public hardship.
