Hyderabad, Oct 15 (IANS): Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Working President K.T. Rama Rao has reacted sharply to the Rs 22,000 crore one-time grant approved by the Union Cabinet for three oil marketing companies (OMCs) and demanded similar package or subsidy to gas users who are bearing a heavy financial burden.

Rama Rao, who is also state Industries and Commerce Minister, questioned why special packages are not offered to women who are burdened with financial distress as subsidy on gas cylinders has been scrapped and its prices have increased.

Noting that the price of a gas cylinder was Rs 400 before Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister but the price has now gone up to Rs 1,100, he said that PM Modi has positioned himself as a Vishwa Guru in terms of the cylinder prices as they are the highest in the world.

The TRS recalled that Modi had questioned the then PM when the price of a gas cylinder was Rs 400, and asked what answers he has now for the nation.

He said that the Central government offered a subsidy of Rs 827 on each cylinder in 2014, which was brought down to zero by the Modi government. The TRS leader said that the BJP government is insensitive towards the middle class whose savings plummeted in the past two years because of Covid-19 and lockdown.

The BJP government has shifted the burden of Rs 42,000 crore subsidies of last year on 39 crore gas connection holders, he said. KTR asked people to choose if they want Modi or subsidies.

He questioned why aren't problems faced by women addressed when oil companies issues are being resolved. The TRS Working President called on women who constitute half of the nation's population to take a firm decision not to bear anymore atrocities inflicted by the BJP, and said that its downfall should start from the kitchens of poor and middle class women.