Chandigarh, March 16 Amid alleged shortages of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders and rising prices, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators in Punjab staged a protest outside the state Assembly on Monday.
Raising slogans against the BJP-led government at the Centre, the MLAs described the situation as a result of government mismanagement and warned that the party would intensify its agitation if the issue is not addressed.
Leading the protest, AAP chief spokesperson and MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said, "Today, ordinary citizens of the country are suffering because of the flawed foreign policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In their attempt to align with Israel and the United States, the Centre has sidelined the country's interests, which has affected the supply of oil and gas."
"Until the prices of cylinders are reduced and supply is restored smoothly, the Aam Aadmi Party will not sit quietly, from the streets to the Vidhan Sabha."
AAP working President Amansher Singh Shery Kalsi highlighted the ground reality and criticised the statements of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.
"BJP ministers and leaders are sitting in air-conditioned rooms and falsely claiming that there is no shortage of gas in the country. If they want to see the reality, they should look at the long queues where people are standing hungry and thirsty for hours."
"Today, the situation is such that stoves in homes have gone cold. In houses where weddings are taking place, even rotis are not being cooked. The indifference of the PM Modi-led government has snatched food from the plates of the poor," he said.
Issuing a warning to the Central government, the Aam Aadmi Party said that if the supply of LPG is not normalised soon, BJP spokespersons and ministers will be gheraoed across the country.
Earlier on Monday, the Central government said that the supply of piped natural gas (PNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) continues uninterrupted across the country.
The government also said that efforts are on to move households away from LPG where gas pipelines are available.
In an inter-ministerial briefing, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas's Joint Secretary, Marketing and Oil Refinery, Sujata Sharma, said that fuel pumps supplying CNG and household PNG connections are operating normally.
"Supply to both CNG users and PNG consumers is being maintained fully. Authorities have also begun enforcement actions to prevent hoarding. Raids have been carried out in several states as part of checks on fuel storage and supply," she said.
The senior government official further said that crude is also available in sufficient quantity. "All refineries are operating at the highest capacity. Our petrol pumps operate normally. No dry outs have been reported so far," she said.
Gas distribution firms have also rolled out incentives for new PNG users. Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) has announced free gas worth Rs 500 for consumers registering for PNG connections before March 31.
Meanwhile, there has been a decline in LPG bookings as panic eased among consumers over the availability of domestic gas, while raids are being conducted across states to check hoarding and black marketing.
