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| “12 promised, 6 delivered” : Free LPG cylinder row sets Assembly ablaze | | | Parmod Kapoor
Early Times Report
Jammu, Sept 24: The J&K Assembly erupted in noisy scenes on Thursday after the government announced six free LPG cylinders a year for Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families. The Opposition BJP accused the Omar Abdullah government of shrinking an election promise of 12 free cylinders.
Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Satish Sharma informed the House that the government has approved the scheme and that the orders needed to implement it will be issued soon. The benefit is proposed to be delivered through Aadhaar-based Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), and the detailed procedure is being worked out.
The announcement quickly turned into a political flashpoint. Leader of the Opposition Sunil Sharma alleged that 12 free cylinders had been promised during the elections, while the benefit is now being cut to six and confined to AAY families alone. He asked the government what had become of the earlier promise and when poor families would actually see relief.
BJP members then began sloganeering in the House, shouting "Where did the 6 cylinders go?" and "Cylinder chor, haye haye." Sunil Sharma claimed that people would not receive even these six cylinders. "This is a betrayal of the people of Jammu and Kashmir," he said. "When will you give these six cylinders? Where did the previous 24 cylinders go?"
National Conference legislators hit back with counter-slogans, and the House descended into chaos. The ruling benches objected strongly to the BJP's repeated charge that the government was backtracking on its promises, and for a while the proceedings were thrown into disorder.
The Leader of the Opposition also questioned the government's promises of one lakh jobs and 200 units of free electricity, and demanded that the government clarify where these commitments stand.
Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather intervened repeatedly, urging members to maintain order and let the House function. Calm returned only after his repeated appeals. |
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