Not cylinder but people's food gets expensive: Akhilesh Yadav slams BJP for commercial LPG rate hike

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday slammed the BJP for the sharp price rise of commercial cylinders, saying it would make food expensive for the common people.

The price of commercial LPG was hiked by the steepest ever Rs 993 per 19-kg cylinder on Friday, marking the third straight monthly increase due to rising global energy prices linked to the West Asia conflict.

A 19-kg commercial LPG -- used by establishments such as hotels and restaurtants -- now costs a record Rs 3,071.5 in Delhi as against Rs 2,078.50 previously. However domestic LPG rates remain unchanged.

"Cylinders don't get expensive; the roti-thali does. This is known only by the one who buys and eats it themselves, not by the one who goes and eats at others' places or steals from others' plates," Yadav said.

"If they had to make the cylinder expensive, they should have just made it Rs 1,000 expensive outright. Who are these BJP folks doing a favour to by not hiking the price by Rs 1,000 but just Rs 7 short of it," the former CM said sarcastically.

The Lok Sabha MP also asked when will the BJP bring a censure motion on 'inflation, unemployment, joblessness, and recession.

His swipe at the BJP referred to both Houses of the Uttar Pradesh legislature on Thursday passing a censure motion against the Samajwadi Party, Congress and other I.N.D.I.A. bloc parties for their stance on the women's reservation bill in Lok Sabha.