UPA gave Rs 2,14,474 cr subsidy on domestic gas in 10 years to check prices: Congress

New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) The Congress on Tuesday claimed that the UPA gave Rs 2,14,474 crore subsidy in 10 years to keep the prices of domestic gas cylinders under check.

The Congress' remarks came after the prices of domestic cooking gas and commercial cylinders were hiked by Rs 50 and Rs 350.50 per cylinder, respectively, with effect from Wednesday (March 1).

The Congress said that from 2004-2005 to 2013-2014, in the 10-year tenure of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the total subsidy given on LPG cylinders for domestic use amounted to Rs 2,14,474 crore.

Addressing a press conference here, Congress spokesperson Gaurav Vallabh said, "This was the reason that domestic LPG cylinder price did not cross Rs 500. You will be surprised to know that the same subsidy in the last nine years of the Modi government stood at Rs 36,598 crore."

With the latest hike, the retail price of cooking gas in Delhi will now be Rs 1,103 per cylinder, while the price for a commercial cylinder will be Rs 2,119.50.

"Today on the first day of March, exactly seven days before Holi, the Modi government has given us a gift. What is that gift? The gift is that now domestic gas cylinders across the country will be priced at over Rs 1,100 per cylinder, while commercial gas cylinders will cost over Rs 2,100 per cylinder. Why did this happen? Why does a domestic gas cylinder, which was priced under Rs 500 before 2014, costs above Rs 1,100 now," Vallabh asked.

The party said that the government is not giving any subsidy, but imposing GST instead. For domestic LPG cylinder, the government has imposed 5 per cent GST, while for commercial cylinder, the GST rate is 18 per cent.

Gross domestic product (GDP) growth for October to December came in at 4.4 per cent, falling from 6.3 per cent during July to September.

"Why did GDP growth slow down in this period? The reason is that manufacturing is having a negative growth, a contraction of 1.1 per cent, while private consumption is also not picking up. The prices of petrol, diesel and LPG gas are going up. There is higher inflation on essential items like flour, spices, clothes etc. which are used by the common people of our country," the Congress spokesman said.