UPA allies force govt to hold back on LPG issue
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UPA's major constituents -- Trinamool Congress and DMK -- on Friday forced the government to hold back any moves to cut back on supply of subsidised LPG even as they joined opposition parties in criticising the hike in petrol price and demanded its roll back.
A meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on limiting the supply of subsidised LPG was deferred at the last minute after objections from Trinamool Congress and DMK.
Official sources said the meeting was called off 'due to non-availability' of certain members of the panel and no new dates have been notified.
The EGoM was to consider limiting the supply of subsidised LPG cylinders to 4-6 per household in a year to cut down the government's subsidy outgo by over Rs 12,000 crore.
This could have led to the price of non-subsidised gas cylinders pegged at over Rs 700 per cylinder. DMK leader and Fertiliser Minister M K Azhagiri decided not to attend the meeting to show his party's opposition to the proposal, DMK sources said.
Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Dinesh Trivedi dismissed reports that he was not willing to attend the meeting saying actually it would have given him an opportunity to put forward his party's opposition to it.
On Thursday's decision to increase the price of petrol by Rs 3.14, Trivedi said the party wants it to be rolled back.
Stating that the hike would put an additional burden on the common man, Trivedi strongly opposed the possible hike in LPG prices. "It is not a luxury but an essential for common man and should not be raised further," he told reporters.
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