Bengaluru, September 12: Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar on Saturday urged the Central government to reduce the price of LPG cylinders by at least Rs 150 as the common people are facing "extreme hardship due to rising price of essential commodities."

The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president is spreading awareness through his weekly 'Ondu Prashne' and opposing the BJP's anti-people policies. "The BJP government has failed to address key issues bothering the common man," he said.

Also Read | Maharashtra Gangrape Case: NCPCR Takes Suo Moto Cognisance of Minor's Gang-Rape in Pune.

Through his 'Ondu Prashne' series, which began last week, Shivakumar is now raising the issue of the LPG price hike that is affecting people across classes.

The state Congress chief noted that the LPG price hike affected not only the poor but also the middle class, especially homemakers. He shared his concerns via social media platforms and asked the public for their responses.

Also Read | NEET UG 2021 Exam To be Conducted Tomorrow; NTA Issues Guidelines On Admit Card, Dress Code; Check Details Here.

At present, an LPG cylinder costs around Rs 900 and has reached Rs 956 in Bidar district on Saturday. Refilling gas cylinders may skyrocket to Rs 1,000 soon, he alleged.

"People of the state are frustrated by such never-ending issues of livelihood. The country continues to reel under Covid-19 and many have lost jobs. People are struggling to bear family expenses. But, the government continues to increase the price of essentials. In our country, there are over 290 million domestic LPG customers and the central government's subsidy has been stopped," commented the Congress chief.

"I have visited various parts of the state and I have interacted with people from all walks of life. Each time I speak to them, irrespective of the economic class they belong to, they are faced with the same issue. The poor, middle class and also the rich everybody is facing the brunt of rising prices of LPG gas." said Shivakumar.

"People who have lost their jobs are taking their own lives as they are finding it difficult to lead their lives. In a situation such as this, the government continues to increase the prices. This is not just anti-people policy, but also inhuman," he added.

"Many beneficiaries of the Ujwala scheme are now using wood stoves because of the price hike. Especially the poor and middle class women are facing problems in refilling cylinders. At this moment LPG cylinder price should be reduced. We demanded a minimum of Rs150 roll back on prices of LPG," said Karnataka former minister.

The KPCC president also sought the opinion of people and asked them to respond through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)