Even "Paper Cylinder" Not Available At Rs 500: Union Minister Teli Takes Dig At Congress Over Poll Promise In MP

Union Minister Rameswar Teli mocked the opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh for their election promise of providing LPG cylinders at a cost of Rs 500 each.

He added that such a promise is impossible to fulfill as even a "paper cylinder" cannot be made available at that price.

Speaking to reporters at Khargone, Teli, the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas further explained that the Congress party can make such claims because they are not currently in government.

He said Congress was merely using these promises to gain power.

"The Congress will make such announcements as it is not in the government. They will say this to come to power. I have seen their big posters promising an LPG cylinder at Rs 500. An empty cylinder costs around Rs 700-800. Not even a kagaz ka cylinder (paper cylinder) will be available at Rs 500," Teli was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Ahead of the Assembly elections due by the year-end in Madhya Pradesh, the state Congress unit chief Kamal Nath has promised to provide cooking gas cylinders to poor families in the state at a cost of Rs 500 each, if his party is elected to power.

According to Teli, the prices of petroleum products vary in each state due to the value-added tax (VAT) imposed on them.

To establish uniformity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to include these products under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, Teli said.

However, some GST council members, including West Bengal and Delhi, opposed the idea, leading to it not being implemented, he added.

"I am, however, hopeful that fuel prices would be brought under the purview of GST in the coming days," Teli said.