LPG price cut

WITH five states going to the polls later this year, the Union Government has slashed the prices of domestic cooking gas by Rs 200 per cylinder. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called it ‘a gift to crores of my sisters of the country on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan’, adding that the government will always do everything possible to improve the people’s quality of life and benefit the poor and the middle class.

The populist decision is expected to bring respite to crores of households whose budgets have been under strain in recent years due to the ever-rising LPG prices. The cost of a cooking gas cylinder had crossed the Rs 1,100 mark in March this year. The rates had been upwardly revised almost on a monthly basis during 2021, with February that year witnessing three hikes. With the Congress promising cheaper LPG in poll-bound states, the BJP-led NDA has desperately tried to show that it is not indifferent to the problems being faced by domestic consumers, particularly women.

The government, however, has taken too long to rein in LPG prices. Allowing things to drift undermined the success of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, which has played a key role in more than doubling the number of LPG connections in the country in the past nine years — from 14.5 crore in April 2014 to around 33 crore now. The latest step, which will cost the exchequer about Rs 7,680 crore in the current financial year, will help a bit in assuaging public anger over the rising prices of essential commodities. How far would it benefit the BJP in this year’s Assembly polls and next year’s General Election remains to be seen. In any case, easing the financial burden on citizens should not be a seasonal affair with an eye on their votes. Public welfare should always be a top priority, uninfluenced by political and electoral considerations.