Ashok Gehlot, the chief minister of Rajasthan, announced today that the state will offer cooking gas cylinders for 500 rupees to those who are enrolled in the Ujjwala programme and live below the poverty line. This declaration comes in front of the assembly elections next year. In an apparent jab at the BJP, the Chief Minister made the announcement in front of senior party figure Rahul Gandhi, adding that each of these families will receive 12 cylinders annually for less than half the cost.
I’m prepping for the budget next month… Right now, I want to say only one thing. Under the Ujjwala Scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi provided the poor with LPG connections… But the cylinder remains empty, because the (cylinder) rates are now between u20b9 400 and u20b9 1,040, Mr Gehlot said. I would like to say that we will provide 12 cylinders a year for those who are poor and under the Ujjwala scheme, at u20b9 500 each, Mr Gehlot added.
Video Courtesy: OneIndia
Rajasthan is to hold assembly elections the following year, and the Congress is making a major effort to win a second consecutive term in the state. The party has attracted attention for its infighting more so than its leadership. Just prior to Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra’s arrival in the state earlier this month, Mr. Gehlot and his erstwhile deputy Sachin Pilot experienced new conflict.
While in Alwar today, Mr. Gandhi commended the accomplishments of Mr. Gehlot’s administration, praising in particular the opening of 1,700 English-medium schools. The declaration is interpreted as Mr. Gehlot’s signal to Team Pilot that his position is secure and that he will offer the election budget for the following year and take the initiative. The government’s announcement is expected to provide a fresh impetus to the debate over freebies and subsidy, which so far had been directed at Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party. The matter is pending in the Supreme Court, which, in a hearing in August, had suggested that an all-party discussion be held on it.
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