Jharkhand MLAs stage demonstration outside assembly over LPG crisis

Ranchi: Legislators of the ruling coalition of the JMM, Congress and RJD staged a demonstration outside the Jharkhand assembly on Friday to protest against the LPG cyclinder crisis.

Holding banners and posters, the MLAs raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the central government for the alleged shortage of cooking gas in the wake of the West Asia conflict.

"Narendra Modi is missing from Parliament; cylinders are missing from the country," read some of the posters displayed by the legislators during the protest.

A placard also featured images of US President Donald Trump and Modi.

Congress MLA Deepika Pandey Singh alleged that prices of gas cylinders were continuously rising due to the central government's policies.

"It is difficult to even book LPG cylinders now. All this is due to failure of the policies of the central government, which is exacerbating the hardships faced by the common people," Singh asserted.

JMM MLA Mangal Kalindi said the "burden of inflation" is directly impacting poor and middle-class families.

"People are being forced to stand in long queues for hours just to procure a gas cylinder, and even after this, they are often unable to obtain one. Many people are rushing to buy induction ovens to cope with the crisis, which is further affecting their family budget," Kalindi claimed.

Earlier, State Agriculture Minister and Congress leader Shilpi Neha Tirkey arrived at the assembly on a rickshaw pedalled by Health Minister Irfan Ansari.

"There is a crisis situation across the country due to shortage of LPG cylinders and rising prices of petroleum products. Even the state's agriculture minister had to come to the assembly on a rickshaw," Ansari told reporters outside the assembly.

"It is the mineral resources of Jharkhand that are driving the country's economy, but look at the crisis of LPG and petroleum products in the state," he said.

The protesting legislators also referred to ongoing rituals of various communities, which are being "impacted" by the cooking gas crisis.