Bhubaneswar: Women wing of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) staged a demonstration in Odisha capital on Friday protesting LPG price hike and lashed out at the Central government saying the sudden increase will hit the poor hard.
A large number of leaders and workers of Biju Mahila Janata Dal assembled near Raj Bhavan in Bhubaneswar holding placards and banners.
Shouting slogans against Rs 50 hike per cooking gas cylinder, the demonstrators hit out at the BJP-led government at the Centre accusing it of betraying the poor people by raising the LPG price all of a sudden.
The protesters also sought to know as to why BJP leaders from Odisha were silent on the issue.
Terming the price hike as ‘unjustified, senior BJD leader and MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik said the move had defeated the very purpose of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana to protect women, especially in rural areas, from the detrimental impact of traditional cooking fuels linked to indoor air pollution.
The price of a domestic LPG cylinder (14.2 kg cylinder), which was was Rs. 410 on March 2014, has gone up to Rs. 1103 following the hike on March 1, he said.
“The price has been increased by almost 3 times in the past 9 years. This clearly exposes the doublespeak of the Centre, which had promised to provide cheap cooking gas,” Patnaik said.
BJD spokesperson Shreemayee Mishra claimed that many in the state are unable to refill the cylinders because of this price hike and are back to using firewood.
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