Bengaluru, 9 June

AICC General Secretary in charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, on Tuesday hit out at the Modi government at the Centre over the reduction in the number of subsidised cooking gas cylinders under the Ujjwala scheme, alleging that the move would impose an additional annual burden of about Rs 900 crore on women in Karnataka alone.

The government has reduced the number of subsidised cooking gas cylinders available annually to beneficiaries of its flagship Ujjwala scheme to four, aligning support with average household consumption levels.

"With this decision, the Central Government has effectively taken away eight subsidised cylinders every year from poor women. As a result, each beneficiary family stands to lose Rs 2,400 annually," Surjewala said in a video statement.

Terming this an "anti-people" decision, the senior Congress leader claimed that it will impose an additional burden of Rs 24,792 crore every year on women across the country.

"How are poor and middle-class women expected to bear this burden?" he asked.

Surjewala alleged that this decision will inevitably push many women back towards using firewood and traditional stoves.

"In Karnataka alone, there are 37.5 lakh Ujjwala beneficiaries, and this move will impose an additional Rs 900 crore annual burden on women in the state," he said.

He sought to know whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government would explain why this attack was carried out on Ujjwala beneficiaries.

Surjewala recalled that in 2014, during the Congress-led UPA government, a domestic LPG cylinder cost around Rs 400. Today, the price of a household LPG cylinder is nearing Rs 1,000, he said.

"The Central Government increased domestic LPG cylinder prices by Rs 60 on March 7 and by another Rs 29 on June 7. In less than three months, prices have risen by nearly Rs 90. How are ordinary families expected to cope with such relentless inflation?" he asked.

Claiming that the steep rise in commercial LPG cylinder prices has also severely impacted livelihoods, placing an enormous burden on small businesses, eateries, restaurants, and traders, Surjewala demanded answers from Prime Minister Modi, Karnataka BJP leaders R Ashoka and BY Vijayendra.

Accusing the BJP government of imposing a direct financial burden on Ujjwala beneficiaries and ordinary citizens alike, the Congress leader sought justification for these "continuous" price hikes.

"Who will take responsibility for the additional Rs 900 crore burden on Karnataka's women and the nearly Rs 25,000 crore burden on women across India? The people of India, and the brothers and sisters of Karnataka, deserve answers. The BJP must explain this decision to the nation," he added.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), launched in May 2016 to provide deposit-free LPG connections to adult women from poor households, beneficiaries were initially entitled to 12 subsidised 14.2-kg cylinders a year. The subsidised quota was reduced to nine cylinders last year and has now been cut further to four.