‘Expert in pleasing people’: Cong leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury jabs PM Modi on LPG cylinder price cut

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Wednesday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party over LPG cylinder price cut by ₹200 for all consumers.

"The Prime Minister and ruling party is expert in pleasing people...Elections are going to take place in many states...I want to ask, if the Rajasthan government can provide a cylinder at ₹500 then why cannot you...", Chowdhury was quoted by ANI as saying.

The Congress leader's swipe at the ruling government comes a day after it announced slashing LPG cylinder prices by ₹200 for all consumers. The Centre approved an additional subsidy of ₹200 under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), taking the total amount of subsidy for the beneficiaries to ₹400.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to social media platform X, formerly called Twitter, saying,“The festival of Raksha Bandhan is a day to increase happiness in a family. The reduction in gas prices will increase the comfort of the sisters in my family and make their lives easier. May every sister of mine be happy, be healthy, be happy, this is my wish from God.”

Several opposition leaders including Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Aam Aadmi Party and Trinamool Congress have questioned the timing of the decision.

"This is the pressure...After the second meeting (of INDIA alliance), they (BJP) have reduced the prices by ₹200...When everything is finalised, then you will see the strength (of the alliance)...," Bihar deputy chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav said yesterday.

“Till now, only TWO meetings have been held in the past TWO months by the INDIA alliance and today, we see that LPG prices have gone down by ₹200. This is the impact of the INDIA alliance”, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee posted on X, formerly Twitter.