Bengaluru: Chief minister Siddaramaiah Thursday criticised the Centre over the steep hike in commercial LPG prices, alleging it was timed after assembly elections. In a post on X, he said the price was increased by Rs 993 on May 1, taking it to over Rs 3,000 per cylinder, after being deliberately held back during the polls.He accused the Centre of passing the burden of global price fluctuations onto people instead of offering relief. Siddaramaiah warned that eateries and catering services would be forced to raise prices, making food costlier. He termed the hike a “cruel irony” on Labour Day.Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar also slammed the move, calling it a betrayal of the poor. He said businesses may shut down due to rising costs and criticised the Centre’s promotion of schemes like Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. “They (BJP leaders) have brought in the situation, leading to a ‘firewood bhagya’ scheme, but the forest department does not allow people to bring firewood home,” he said.Revenue minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the hike has disrupted livelihoods, affecting auto drivers, small vendors and eateries in particular. “Immediately after the elections, you can see that gas prices, which had not been increased earlier, are now being raised. Because of this, many hotels are shutting down. Lakhs of auto drivers who run gas-powered autos are losing their daily income,” he said.———-BoxIndustrial products to turn costly: AssnLG Kumar, secretary of the Karnataka circle of All India LPG Distributors’ Federation, emphasised the effects of the increase in industrial LPG prices. “The price of a 47.5kg industrial LPG has gone up by Rs 2,477.5 and now stands at Rs 7,878.5. This will have an effect on prices of all the materials and products produced by these industries.” He added that there is very little hope of the situation improving. “As there have been bombings (in West Asia), the impact is high. The ships which have arrived are not prepared for return trips. The insurance rates on carriers have also seen steep hikes,” he added.
