Kejriwal praises EC decision to examine timing of gas price hike

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday welcomed the Election Commission's decision to examine the timing of hiking gas prices from April 1.

"According to media reports, it says that the EC has taken note of my complaint, and asked the government not to proceed forward with its proposed hike in gas prices, which was supposed to be effective from April 1. I also want to say that the price of gas should be only four dollars, while the Congress wants the price of gas to be at eight dollars, and the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi wants the price to be at 16 dollars,"Kejriwal said.

"This is the first time Reliance is trying to save the government. Earlier, there used to be PR agencies hired by political parties. This time Reliance is openly trying to save Modi. Reliance should explain that isn't it true that in the Mumbai High Court, they gave an affidavit saying that to produce gas from the wells where it comes from, they just pay less than a dollar. Therefore, if the gas prices are increased to eight dollars, there will be rise in prices of commodities, be it fertilizers, vegetables and cereals etc. It is only the AAP which is trying to save the people from price rise, Mukesh Ambani must explain what special relations it has with the government and Modi," Kejriwal added.

On Friday, the Election Commission had said that it will be looking at the urgency of the manner in which the government was going ahead with a hike in gas prices.

The oil ministry had last week sought the poll panel's approval to announce a hike in prices of gas from $4.2 a unit to $8 next month, when India goes to polls.