Why Congress-ruled states aren't reducing fuel prices, asks Irani

Union minister Smriti Irani on Saturday questioned why the Congress-ruled states have not been reducing fuel prices further after the Union Government gave relief to consumers last month.

Talking to reporters at the Chhattisgarh BJP office here, she also targeted the 'Gandhi family', claiming that they did not do anything for the development of Amethi even though the area was a family bastion for long.

Irani wrested away the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in 2019 general elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government reduced petrol and diesel prices by Rs 9 and Rs 7, and took up a burden of Rs 1 lakh crore to ensure relief to people. The beneficiaries of the Ujjwala scheme got a reduction of Rs 200 per cylinder.

Free (anti-COVID-19) vaccines and ration and several similar humanitarian steps were taken in the interest of the nation," the BJP leader said. "Why Congress-ruled states have not been reducing the prices (of fuel), she asked.

On a question about her constituency, Irani said, "For 50 years, a family owned Amethi, as a result of which 80 percent of households there did not have power connection or toilets before 2014.

There was not even a collector office. "Rahul Gandhi visited foreign countries but the first passport office in Amethi was set up by PM Modi and then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj," the Women and Child Development Minister added.

Congress candidates lost their deposits in four of the five assembly segments in the recent Uttar Pradesh polls, Irani pointed out.

The Union minister was in Raipur to review the work of the Women and Child Development Department. Later, she also addressed a gathering of the BJP's state women wing workers at the party office.