Govt decides to increase LPG cylinder cap
12 Oct 2012 8:04 AM IST
Under pressure from the opposition, allies and its own party members, the government has decided to increase the cap on subsidised LPG cylinders. The decision to this effect was taken amid political drama in the union cabinet meet on Thursday, with the agriculture minister Sharad Pawar leading the pack that wanted the cap to be upped. Sources say that Pawar had already taken the top leadership of the Congress into confidence on the issue.
Last month the petroleum ministry had passed an order restricting the number of subsidised LPG cylinders to six to each consumer per year, prompting widespread criticism and partly making the Trinamool Congress to pull out of the United Progressive Alliance [UPA].
Sources in the Congress say that Pawar raised the issue in the cabinet after broaching the matter with the party's top brass. Pawar, the source said, had already got the promise of support from the Congress leadership on the matter, which was too happy that a 'reliable' ally had raised the issue as a 'genuine' concern rather than using the opportunity to blackmail the government.
The Nationalist Congress Party [NCP] leader voiced concern over the cap and demanded that the quota for the subsidised cylinders need to be increased from six to 12. He sought clarity from the government on this issue and counselled that the matter be addressed immediately, as there was growing resentment on the issue in the public. The Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh and the defence minister A K Antony immediately agreed with Pawar.
Feeling the consensus building against the decision to cap the number of cylinders at six, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh directed the petroleum minister Jaipal Reddy to initiate the process to increase the cap. The cabinet, however, is still undecided whether the cap will be raised to 10 or 12 per year.
Earlier too, the Congress leaders like K V Thomas, Harish Rawat, Oomen Chandy, Beni Prasad Verma and Virbhadra Singh had demanded a re-look at the decision to cap LPG cylinders at six.
Last month the petroleum ministry had passed an order restricting the number of subsidised LPG cylinders to six to each consumer per year, prompting widespread criticism and partly making the Trinamool Congress to pull out of the United Progressive Alliance [UPA].
Sources in the Congress say that Pawar raised the issue in the cabinet after broaching the matter with the party's top brass. Pawar, the source said, had already got the promise of support from the Congress leadership on the matter, which was too happy that a 'reliable' ally had raised the issue as a 'genuine' concern rather than using the opportunity to blackmail the government.
The Nationalist Congress Party [NCP] leader voiced concern over the cap and demanded that the quota for the subsidised cylinders need to be increased from six to 12. He sought clarity from the government on this issue and counselled that the matter be addressed immediately, as there was growing resentment on the issue in the public. The Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh and the defence minister A K Antony immediately agreed with Pawar.
Feeling the consensus building against the decision to cap the number of cylinders at six, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh directed the petroleum minister Jaipal Reddy to initiate the process to increase the cap. The cabinet, however, is still undecided whether the cap will be raised to 10 or 12 per year.
Earlier too, the Congress leaders like K V Thomas, Harish Rawat, Oomen Chandy, Beni Prasad Verma and Virbhadra Singh had demanded a re-look at the decision to cap LPG cylinders at six.
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