Hyderabad: Civil supplies minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Friday strongly criticised the central govt’s decision to increase the price of a 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder by an unprecedented ₹993, and demanded an immediate rollback of the hike.Terming it ‘unfortunate,’ he said the move would burden small businesses, street vendors, hotels, and restaurants, ultimately impacting the common man as the cost of cooked food items is expected to rise.Uttam accused the BJP govt at the Centre of “cheating the people” by strategically timing the price hike. “We have been saying that the BJP govt was waiting for polling to conclude in West Bengal to increase prices. Within 24 hours after the second and final phase of polling ended, the BJP govt implemented a huge hike in commercial LPG prices,” the minister alleged.The revised prices, effective Friday, have pushed the cost of a 19-kg commercial cylinder to over ₹3,000 in most metropolitan cities, up from around ₹2,000 earlier. In Delhi, the price has risen to ₹3,071.50, while in Hyderabad it has increased from ₹2,321 to ₹3,315, he said.Oil marketing companies have attributed the hike to rising global energy prices linked to ongoing tensions in West Asia, marking the third consecutive monthly increase.Uttam warned that the hike would have an immediate cascading effect, driving up food prices and significantly impacting the common man. He noted that commercial LPG cylinders are widely used by hotels, cafés, restaurants, and small businesses.Strongly condemning the move, the minister said Congress has consistently warned against such policies. “We strongly criticise this decision and demand an immediate rollback to protect small traders and the public from its inflationary impact,” he said.
