BJP slams TN government over cooking gas cylinder scheme
What's the story
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has slammed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay's government for not fulfilling its election promise of providing six free cooking gas cylinders a year. The criticism comes after the announcement of the Annapoorani Super Six LPG scheme, which limits the benefit to three cylinders a year for families with an annual income below ₹2.5 lakh.
Criticism voiced
'What was their promise during elections?'
Tamil Nadu BJP spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy slammed the state government for scaling back its promise.
He asked why both the number of cylinders and beneficiaries had been reduced from the election promise.
"What was their promise during elections? The manifesto. It was six cylinders per year and to all the households," Thirupathy said, questioning why only three cylinders would be provided from Pongal 2027.
Scheme details
Scheme to benefit 1.30 crore families
Vijay announced the Annapoorani Super Six scheme in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday.
Under this scheme, eligible families will get the cost of three LPG cylinders a year directly credited to their bank accounts.
The scheme is expected to benefit around 1.30 crore families with an annual household income below ₹2.5 lakh and will cost the exchequer around ₹4,000 crore annually.
Financial burden
Vijay on why cylinders were reduced
Vijay said the decision to limit cylinders was taken in light of rising LPG prices and shortages due to the ongoing war situation in the Gulf region.
He said these factors had increased financial burdens on households.
"Keeping this in mind...in order to lighten the financial burden on the public, protect their welfare, and fulfill the promise made to the people, the government has decided to provide them with the amount spent towards cooking gas cylinders," he added.