The central government is planning to withdraw subsidy on cooking gas for people with annual income of over Rs.10 lakh, union minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said here on Saturday.
"Why do they need subsidy? Why do the ministers need subsidy?" Naidu, who is minister for urban development and parliamentary affairs, asked at a meeting here.
The minister said 30 lakh people have given up LPG subsidy in response to a call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the money saved on this will be used to provide gas connections to poor families.
Naidu was speaking at an awards function at the Federation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Chambers of Commerce.
He also quoted Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan as saying that many illegal gas connections were identified and thousands of crores of rupees were saved by stopping supply to those consumers.