JDU asks Centre to roll back LGP hike as poll warning

New Delhi: The BJP's NDA ally Janata Dal-United (JDU) on Wednesday said the Centre should roll back the hike in cooking gas cylinder prices by petroleum companies.

As per a report by NDTV, the party cited how the surging prices have affected households amid the Covid-19 pandemic and may play a role in the coming state elections.

JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi said the repeated hike in the LPG price has affected people's budget adversely and advised that the government should roll back the hike.

According to a report in NDTV, Tyagi further said the opposition might use this as a weapon against the alliance in the coming elections.

Petroleum companies today increased the price of a subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder by ₹ 25. This is the second price hike announced by the retailers in a month. On August 18, too, it was increased by ₹ 25.

"There has been an unprecedented increase in prices (of petroleum products). See where the petrol and diesel prices are today...The kitchen budget has been hit badly. This is very worrying," Tyagi told NDTV.

A number of elections to state assemblies, including those of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, are scheduled to be held over the next few months.

According to a PTI report, Mr Tyagi, also spoke against leaving petrol and diesel prices to market mechanism, and said the government must step in to curb their cost for people's benefit.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party has of late taken positions on certain issues that have raised eyebrows. He himself had backed the opposition's demand for a probe into the alleged snooping scandal involving Pegasus spyware. He has also led a chorus for a caste-based Census, a politically fraught issue over which the BJP has so far maintained silence.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the Centre earlier today over the hike in petrol prices, citing data for petrol, diesel, and cooking gas.

Over the past seven years, the government has earned more than ₹ 23 lakh crore because of the rise of diesel, petrol, and cooking gas, he said, claiming that the funds from all this and the goods and services tax, were "benefiting a handful of crony capitalists".