'First gas, next strike on petrol-diesel': Rahul Gandhi's prediction after steep commercial LPG price hike

FIrst walk out on gaseous state, next walk out on petrol-diesel, warned us congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of oppositeness Rahul Gandhi on Friday after a steep increase of ₹993 in commercial gas cylinders amid disrupted global energy supplies due to the West Asia conflict.Commercial liquified petroleum gas (LPG) recorded the steepest-ever rate hike of ₹993 on Friday. Commercial LPG - the one used in hotels and restaurants - now costs ₹3,071.50 per 19-kg cylinder. The rates for five-kg FTL or market-priced LPG cylinders were also hiked from ₹549 to ₹810.50 per bottle.The five-kg FTL cylinder now costs just a shade lower than the ₹913 rate for a 14.2-kg cylinder used in household kitchens (called domestic LPG).“I had said it - the heat of inflation would come after the elections. Today, commercial gas cylinder is ₹993 more expensive. The biggest increase in a single day. This is the election bill,” Rahul Gandhi said on the LPG price hike.From February till now: ₹1,380 increase - a whopping 81 per cent jump in just three months, Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X. “Tea stall, dhaba, hotel, bakery, sweet shop - the burden on everyone's kitchen has increased. And this will affect your plate too,” he said.“First strike on gas, next strike on petrol-diesel,” he added.What IOC saidAnnouncing the decisions, market leader Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) said the retail prices of petrol, diesel and household domestic LPG (14.2 kg cylinders) have not been changed, protecting domestic consumers from the recent increase in international fuel prices.These fuels, along with kerosene, whose rates too have not been changed, make up for over 80 per cent of all fuels consumed in the country."Price revisions have been limited to select industrial segments, which constitute a relatively small share of overall consumption and are subject to routine monthly adjustments based on prevailing international prices," IOC said in a statement.As part of a consumer-centric approach, "there has been no change in key fuels affecting the general public - retail prices of petrol and diesel remain unchanged for the general public, which constitutes around 90 per cent of the total petrol, diesel consumption in the country. There is no change in the prices of domestic LPG (14.2 kg) for 33 crore domestic LPG consumers."There is no change in ATF prices for domestic airlines (scheduled operations) and no change in prices of PDS Kerosene," it said.