Hours after son joins BJP, Maharashtra Cong leader Vikhe Patil gets Sena MP's invite
Mumbai, Mar 12: Hours after his son Sujay joined the ruling BJP Tuesday, senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil got an offer from the Shiv Sena to join it.
Rajya Sabha MP and senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut, who invited Vikhe Patil to join his party, also reminded the latter that he and his father were once ministers in the Uddhav Thackeray-led party's government.
Shirdi MLA Vikhe Patil, also Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, is the son of veteran politician and former Union Minister of State for Finance Minister Balasaheb Vikhe Patil.
"Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil should join the Shiv Sena and make our alliance (with the BJP) stronger. Both he and his father were ministers in Sena government. It is good if the third generation of the family is also a part of the alliance," Raut said.
Sujay Vikhe Patil had earlier in the day joined the BJP in presence of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis after the Sharad Pawar-led NCP refused to relinquish its claim on the Ahmednagar Lok Sabha seat for him.
Reacting to Sujay's entry into the BJP, Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe told reporters that the former's father now did not have the right to remain LoP in the state Assembly.
"Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil should resign (as LoP) on moral grounds," Gorhe said.
She further claimed the Congress never analysed Vikhe Patil's performance in the Assembly or else former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan would have been given the post of LoP long back.
"This shows there is political bankruptcy in the Congress," she claimed.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and Maharashtra Finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said several Congress and NCP leaders were eager to join the BJP.
"Except Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan, almost every important leader of the Congress is willing to join the BJP," Mungantiwar claimed.
Meanwhile, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said his party isn't surprised at Sujay joining the BJP.
"Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia was in the BJP while (her son) Madhavrao Scindia was in the Congress. Vasundhara Raje (her daughter) was (BJP) chief minister of Rajasthan while Jyotiraditya Scindia (Madhavrao's son) is a Congress leader.
If Vikhe Patil's son joins the BJP, it should not be looked at differently," he said.
Malik further said as far as the Ahmednagar election was concerned, the party would fight with full strength against Sujay.
Meanwhile, a Congress source said, "Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil will not resign from the Congress. He will work hard in the upcoming elections for the party."
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Commercial LPG hike: Delhi restaurant owners warn of higher menu rates, job losses
New Delhi (PTI) A day after a 50 per cent rise in commercial LPG cylinder prices, Delhi's food business, with restaurant owners and street vendors have warned of higher menu rates, financial strain and potential job losses if the trend persists.
The price of commercial LPG was hiked by a steep Rs 993 per 19 kg cylinder, marking the third consecutive monthly hike amid rising global energy prices linked to the West Asia conflict.
For many in the restaurant industry, the spike has been both sudden and steep.
Manpreet Singh, honorary treasurer of the National Restaurant Association of India, said that eateries are already grappling with supply challenges alongside rising costs.
"There is a huge difficulty in getting these cylinders, and black marketing is also increasing in many unregulated sectors," he said, noting that prices that were once around Rs 1,600, often dropping to nearly Rs 1,300 with discounts, have now surged to between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 per cylinder.
He further added that a medium-sized restaurant typically uses between two and five cylinders daily, making the increase particularly burdensome as costs mount.
Singh further said that as costs mount, smaller establishments could struggle to stay afloat. Instead, the association has advised restaurants to shift towards piped natural gas connections through Indraprastha Gas Limited as a more sustainable alternative.
"If this problem continues, PNG is the only long-term solution," he said, adding that temporary measures like coal offer limited relief due to slower cooking times and that it can largely be used only for tandoors.
Echoing similar concerns, Kabir Suri, owner of Mamagoto in Khan Market, said the impact is already visible across the industry. "There has been almost a threefold increase in cylinder prices for restaurants," he said, adding that rising fuel and logistics costs are compounding the pressure.
"If this continues, it will become a significant financial burden, and food prices will inevitably go up. Adding to this burden, higher fuel costs are also affecting logistics and transportation, making a price rise unavoidable. The extent of the impact will vary between small eateries and large chains depending on their scale," he said.
Global oil prices have surged nearly 50 per cent following disruptions in energy supply chains due to the West Asia conflict, pushing up commercial fuel costs and transport expenses.
A West Delhi-based restaurateur said they are trying to manage rising costs while keeping their staff secure. "We are trying to ensure that our staff, from kitchen workers to waiters, are paid on time and do not face immediate hardship," the owner said.
"We are a small restaurant with seating for about 20 to 25 people at a time. But if this continues for long, we will have to take difficult calls. There is only so much we can absorb, and menu prices will have to go up. We hope this does not continue for a longer period," he said.
Another restaurant owner in North Delhi, who did not wish to be named, said operational adjustments alone may not be enough. "We are checking our costs very carefully and trying to cut wherever possible, but if fuel prices remain high, it will eventually affect how we run the business," the owner said.
"Coal helps in tandoor cooking, but it takes more time," the owner further added.
The strain is even more acute among street vendors, many of whom operate on thin margins. A vendor in Saket said he had recently expanded his business, moving from a mobile cart to a rented outlet.
"I have a family to feed and more responsibilities now. Earlier, I managed with a moving cart, but after renting the place, expenses increased," he said. "Whenever cylinders were unavailable, I had to buy them at higher rates in the black market. Now even regular supply is too expensive, and if this continues, we may have to shut down," he added.
In Laxmi Nagar, another vendor said they are struggling to keep the business running. "Sometimes we even used domestic cylinders from home when supply ran out because we had to keep the stall running," he said, adding that rising costs leave little choice but to increase prices or bear losses.
On April 1, the rates of commercial LPG cylinders were hiked by Rs 195.50 per cylinder, followed by a Rs 114.5 hike on March 1, taking the total increase over the past three months to Rs 1,303. With the latest revision, a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder now costs Rs 3,371.5 in Delhi, up from Rs 2,078.5 earlier.
The prices of domestic LPG cylinders used for household cooking have remained unchanged. They were last increased by Rs 60 per 14.2 kg cylinder on March 7 and currently cost Rs 913 in Delhi.
