Today is 7th October. It is the day after Mahalaya. The sculptors finally drew the eye of the Goddess Durga yesterday. This means that the ten-day festival has begun. People have ushered the goddess in. The biggest festival in India, Navratri has begun. Member of Delhi Legislative Assembly, Alka Lamba attended a press conference at the AICC headquarters. There she wished all the people of India good health and spirits.
Then she said something which had already shocked the nation on the morning of 7th October. The prices of Liquified Petroleum Gas cylinder or LPG or commonly known as cooking gas have again risen. It has risen by Rs 15 per cylinder. Alka Lamba said that this rise in the price of the LPG was perhaps a gift that the Modi government wanted to bestow on the citizens of the country. She said that on the first day of the festival, there are celebrations in the country. But in India, nothing as such is happening. The people of this country are suffering a lot financially. There are no jobs available.
The prices of various commodities are increasing. But in comparison to that, the salaries of the people are not. They remain the same. So, the poor are getting poorer. It is difficult for even a middle-class family to run the household. However, the government of Narendra Modi is paying no heed to the struggles of the citizens. It is continuously increasing the prices of cooking gas, sometimes even twice a month. The people are now scared to open newspapers in case there is a hike in the cooking gas cylinder prices. In the press meet, Alka took out today’s newspaper in front of the media. She then asked them why they did not raise a single question against the government when crude oil was cheap but at the same time, the prices of petrol and diesel were comparatively high.
She placed documents in front of the media. These documents proved that since 24th September 2021 there has been a rise in the prices of petrol and diesel about 9 times. She continued that on the present day, the price of petrol in Delhi was Rs 103.24 per liter. She also brought into the limelight the fact that from 27th September to 7th October, the price of petrol had been on a rising spree. This was the case not only for petrol but diesel as well. From 23rd September to 7th October, the prices of diesel have also risen. Standing in the present day one can see that the price of diesel is Rs 91.77. This is the price in the capital of the country, Delhi.
Alka Lamba urged the citizens of India to put pressure on the media so that they would hold a non-biased debate on the finance of the country. She specifically wanted Nirmal Sitharaman, the current Ministry of Finance in the debate. Along with her other ministers of the Congress and other parties. The debate would be based on the difference in prices of LPG in national and international markets during each of their tenures.
In her speech, Alka presented before the media and public the price of LPG in the international market. It is Rs 664.27. But in the Indian market, the price of a single cylinder is about to cross Rs 1000. She requested the Modi government to reduce the prices of LPG which was increased. Her request also contained the words that the subsidy of 108 crores which was not present in the books of the system be restored. She said that the government should decrease the prices of petrol, diesel, and LPG in the nine days of the festival one by one just like they increased the prices in the previous days. If this was done, all the nine gods of this gigantic festival would bless him. This would also reduce the suffering of the people.
