The NCP has threatened to take to the roads if the state government does not take a decision on providing additional subsidised LPG cylinders within a week’s time.
The alliance party in the government has blamed chief minister Prithviraj Chavan for being “tardy in deciding on the issue”.
The NCP’s Yuwati Congress leader MP Supriya Sule and Mahila Adhaksya MLC Vidya Chavan had led a group of party women to meet Mr Chavan during his visit to Yashvantrao Chavan Pratishthan on Wednesday. The leaders demanded that the decision with respect to three extra subsidised LPG cylinders be taken soon. The CM assured that he would decide on the issue soon.
However, on Thursday, party spokesperson Nawab Malik declared that the party women would agitate as the issue is serious and concerns over 1.72 crore families in the state.
“Our party is in the state, but running the government is one thing and taking up an issue is another. Monetary concerns may be a restraining factor for the state, but the party has to think of its people,” Mr Malik said.
It was expected that the decision of providing three more cylinders in addition to the six sanctioned subsidised cylinders would be taken during Wednesday’s cabinet meet. However, the issue did not appear on the agenda of the meet.
“The NCP is in support of providing as many cylinders as possible at subsidised rates, but the state is not taking any decision. The CM has not been able to take a quick decision in the last one-and-a-half years,” Mr Malik alleged.
Congress senior minister Narayan Rane reacted to NCP’s criticism saying that NCP’s food and civil supply minister Anil Deshmukh should have put the issue for decision in the cabinet.