Bhubaneswar: Continuing its attack on the Centre and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the women wing of BJD Thursday staged a demonstration in front of the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) office here protesting LPG cylinder price hike and alleged scam in Ujjwala scheme.
The activists of Biju Mahila Janata Dal (BMJD) led by the outfit president Pramila Mallick shouted slogans and accused the Central government of hiking the price of cooking gas cylinders at least 22 times since the BJP led NDA government came to power in 2014. The activists shouted slogans against the NDA government holding placards.
Though the Centre claims that over 30.48 lakh connections were given in Odisha under Ujjwala scheme since its launch in May 2016, only 30 per cent people have refilled their cylinders after the first use, Mallik said.
Of 30.48 lakh connections, only 8.18 lakh beneficiaries took their second refill in 2016-17 while the number has been reduced to 6.45 lakh in the 2017-18 financial year.
“In Angul, Pradhan’s home district, 1.5 lakh connections were given under the scheme while the second refill was taken by 35,406 beneficiaries in 2016-17 and 16,950 in the following year,” Mallik further said.
She alleged that the Ujjwala Yojana was a total failure in the state as people who have got connections under the scheme are not able to refill their cylinders.
The BJD women wing alleged that the beneficiaries of Ujjwala yojana were selected by the BJP leaders while free gas connections have been given to ghost beneficiaries.
Rejecting the claim of BJD, state BJP leader Lekhashree Samantasinghar said, “State Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister has himself admitted in the Assembly that 23 lakh poor women have been benefited by the Ujjwala scheme till March 2018 and over 16 lakh beneficiaries have refilled their cylinders in June, July and August. The BJD is making the allegations only to gain political mileage.”
On LPG cylinder price hike, she said the hike has been very nominal for the subsidised cylinders. The Centre has also ensured that beneficiaries will get their subsidy within a week.
Hitting back at BJD, the BJP leader said, “Several scams like `700-crore dal scam, `20,000-crore chit-fund scam and `60,000-crore mining scam have occurred during the BJD regime. Many problems of our state will be resolved if all these money is recovered.”
