LPG shortage: Punjab Assembly passes resolution against Centre

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The North News

Chandigarh, March 12

The Punjab Legislative Assembly has passed a unanimous resolution criticising the central government over what it described as a shortage of LPG and rising prices across India. The resolution, moved by Punjab’s Food and Civil Supplies Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak, said the situation had been worsened by the Centre’s foreign policy amid the ongoing conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States.

During a debate in the Assembly on Thursday, members from both the treasury and opposition benches blamed the policies of the BJP-led central government for the supply disruption. Two BJP legislators were not present in the House during the discussion.

The resolution said people across the country were facing shortages of cooking gas while prices had risen in recent weeks. It cited a reported increase of ₹60 in the price of a 14kg domestic cylinder and ₹115 for commercial cylinders.

It also referred to warnings from the National Restaurant Association of India, which represents hundreds of thousands of eateries, that restaurants could be forced to shut down if LPG supplies were not normalised within 72 hours.

The motion said shortages had already been reported in major cities such as Chennai and Mumbai, describing the situation as “extremely alarming”.

Speaking in the House, AAP MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said the country was facing difficulties because of what he called the Centre’s “wrong policies”.

Cabinet minister Harjot Singh Bains warned that an LPG shortage could affect the hospitality and tourism sectors and disrupt the upcoming wedding season, with some caterers already returning advance payments.

Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa also supported the resolution, saying there were concerns that fuel prices could rise further as the conflict in West Asia continued.

The resolution concluded by censuring the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing it of putting the country at risk through its policies.

With PTI Inputs