Issues of jobs, women safety, inflation would haunt BJP in LS polls: P. Chidambaram
Mumbai, Oct 27: Former Union minister P Chidambaram said Saturday lack of jobs, safety of women and children and price rise are among the major issues that will haunt the ruling BJP in the coming elections.
The former finance minister, who heads manifesto committee of the Congress, was speaking at 'an open house' program here organised by the city unit of the party.
The committee members were on a visit to the city to hold discussions with representatives of various sections of society ahead of preparation of the party's manifesto for 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Chidambaram said the committee received 67 suggestions during a two-hour interaction Saturday.
He said the lack of jobs, safety of women and children, and price rise were the most important concerns of people.
"These issues will haunt the BJP in Lok Sabha polls," he added.
The former minister said these concerns would be incorporated in the Congress manifesto.
"If you (people) say prices of petrol and diesel should be reduced and the government doesn't listen, then it is an arrogant government and not a democratic one," he said.
"I can sit in a room and promise to put Rs 25 lakh in your bank account or promise you four crore jobs...one job in the morning and another in the evening. This does not work. We want to listen to you and know what you expect," he said, taking a dig at the BJP's promises before the 2014 elections.
The Congress was ushering a new way of drafting a poll manifesto, he said.
The suggestions the party received during the meeting Saturday also related to representation of backward class Muslim, urban infrastructure and securing interest on bank fixed deposits, among other things, he said.
The open house session was the first one and similar meetings will be held in other cities as well, Chidambaram said.
He was accompanied by party MPs Rajeev Gowda and Kumar Ketkar.
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LPG bookings close to normal, but situation continues to be worrisome
New Delhi (PTI): Bookings for domestic LPG refills are approaching pre-war normal levels, signalling a gradual return to normalcy, but concerns persist as supply restrictions on commercial consumers, including hotels, remain in place due to ongoing disruptions in input supplies caused by the West Asia conflict.
Over 33 crore domestic LPG consumers had, on average, booked about 55 lakh cylinders daily before the February 28 military strikes by the US and Israel on Iran. The escalation triggered sweeping retaliation from Tehran, effectively shutting the Strait of Hormuz - a critical shipping corridor used by major Gulf producers such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE to export crude oil, gas and LPG to key markets including India.
The shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz blocked India's access to almost 60 per cent of its LPG, leading to curtailment of supplies to commercial users and triggering panic buying by domestic users, which peaked to 87.7 lakh on March 13.
Bookings have since fallen to 56-57 lakh on March 18, said Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
"Panic booking is coming down," she said, adding that the government continues to prioritise the supply of available LPG to domestic households.
However, "LPG (supply) situation remains worrisome but there is no dry out at any LPG distributor," she said.
Commercial users are getting just a fifth of their requirement.
Sharma said domestic LPG production has increased by over 40 per cent in the last two weeks and the three public sector oil marketing companies have been making normal, pre-war levels of daily deliveries of LPG refills.
"Our supply has not dipped. Some days the supply has been higher (than pre-war times). On March 18, 54.91 lakh LPG cylinders were delivered against a booking of over 56 lakh," she said.
Oil companies are operating extra shifts to keep LPG deliveries in pace with the bookings. They delivered 62.5 lakh cylinders on March 13 and 60 lakh on March 14 - the peak two days of panic bookings.
LPG supplies are under close monitoring amid the prevailing geopolitical tensions, with no dry-outs reported at distributorships and domestic cylinder deliveries continuing uninterrupted, she said.
Online bookings have risen sharply to 94 per cent, while Delivery Authentication Code (a unique OTP that is sent to registered mobile numbers of actual users to ensure LPG is being delivered to correct customers) coverage has expanded to 83 per cent.
In addition, customers near a city gas network are being encouraged to shift to piped natural gas - a convenient alternative to LPG as the fuel continuously travels through pipes to household kitchens without the botheration of refill bookings.
"In the last two weeks, 1.25 lakh new domestic, commercial and industrial connections have been issued," she said.
Raids and inspections to stop black marketing continue with seizure of cylinders as well as FIRs in several states.
The Union government on March 18 wrote to all state governments asking them to take all steps to prevent black marketing and hoarding while taking stringent actions against violators.
Besides, alternate fuels such as kerosene are being promoted, she said adding commercial LPG stocks have been placed with states for using them as per their priority list.
