‘Anti-revdi’ BJP announces two domestic cylinders for free in Gujarat

The cylinders are to be distributed under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) and are expected to drain the public exchequer by about Rs.650 crore.

Hyderabad: Strange are the ways of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

While on one hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautions the nation over what he calls the ‘revdi’ or freebie culture, on the other, the BJP government in his home State of Gujarat decides to distribute two gas cylinders for free in a year.

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This announcement was made by the Gujarat government on Monday and 38 lakh families were expected to benefit. The sudden decision by the BJP government was taken apparently with an eye on the State Assembly elections, which are due in a couple of months.

The BJP-led union government, and Modi in particular, has been vociferously opposing the ‘freebie’ culture, citing financial repercussions. However, the same BJP, which has quite harshly been mocking the Aam Aadmi Party for its freebies, including free electricity, education, unemployment allowances, has now taken a ‘U’ turn and announced distribution of two cylinders for free.

The cylinders are to be distributed under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) and are expected to drain the public exchequer by about Rs.650 crore.

In a video posted on Twitter, Gujarat Education Minister Jitu Vaghani is seen explaining the procedure of distributing the two cylinders for free to beneficiaries. The money for these two cylinders would be deposited into accounts of consumers, he said.

In addition to distributing two cylinders for free, the Gujarat government has also reduced the Value Added Tax (VAT) on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Piped Natural Gas (PNG) by about 10 per cent, making them cheaper by nearly Rs.7 per kg and Rs.6 per kg respectively.

The Gujarat government’s decision has left many fuming, with many slamming the BJP for its opportunistic politics.

A chartered accountant, SS Balakrishnan tweeted: “Gujarat minister has announced a revdi of two free gas cylinders! I am sure Prime Minister Narendra Modi will criticise Gujarat government for this revdi as he does with other opposition governments!! BJP is truly rattled! Nagpur Panchayat poll results are a worrying factor for BJP!!”

Much before the cylinder ‘revdi’ was announced, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (now Bharat Rashtra Samithi) working president KT Rama Rao had pointed out the BJP’s preferential treatment to BJP-ruled States, especially Gujarat.

Taking a dig at the Prime Minister for his ‘revdi’ announcements for Gujarat while inaugurating, promising and announcing projects costing nearly Rs.80,000 crore in just six months, the Minister last Monday tweeted: “Is this Democracy or Modicracy or plain Hypocrisy? For Gujarat, To Gujarat by the PM of Gujarat. It is NOT “Revdi” if it is meant for Gujarat.”