"LPG Price Reduction Is Not Politically Motivated": Union Minister Hardeep Puri

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Puri on Tuesday said that the Union Cabinet’s decision to reduce domestic LPG cylinder prices is not politically motivated, adding that it is not linked to upcoming assembly polls and is motivated out of a genuine sense of feeling for the citizens.

"The whole nation is extending a warm welcome to this decision. People will get a Rs 200 reduction in the prices of cylinders, and the prices of cylinders will come down from Rs 1100 to Rs 900. This is not politically motivated, it is motivated out of a genuine sense of feeling for the citizens. It is a brother's gift to his sisters," Puri told ANI.

He also made reference to the price of petroleum and diesel, which has not increased in the last two years.

"Since 2021, the price of petroleum and diesel has not increased, and elections have been held in these two years also. There's no point in referring to this as a politically motivated action," he said.

Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Mizoram are set to go for Assembly polls later this year, followed by general elections in 2024.

Earlier in the day, the Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announced a Rs 200 reduction in domestic cooking gas prices.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur said the decision is a gift from PM Modi, to the women of the country on Onam and Raksha Bandhan.

Effective Wednesday, the price of a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder will be reduced by Rs 200 across the country. In Delhi, for instance, the decision will bring down the cost of a 14.2 kg cylinder from the existing Rs 1,103 per cylinder to Rs 903.

This across-the-board reduction is in addition to the existing targeted subsidy of Rs 200 per cylinder to Ujjwala households, which will continue. Therefore, the effective price in Delhi for Ujjwala beneficiaries after this reduction will be Rs 703.

Anurag Thakur said the government has initiated several schemes for the welfare of women, including pucca houses, toilets, additional foodgrains and direct benefit transfers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

India is dependent on imports for 60 per cent of its natural gas requirements.

The minister also said that the central government has decided to add another 75 lakh Ujjwala gas beneficiaries. At present, there are 9.6 crore beneficiaries of the scheme. (ANI)