Senior CPI(M) leader BrindaKarat on Friday lashed out at the Narendra Modi government for the steep hike in prices of LPG cylinders and said the Centre was "pickpocketing" the savings of the common man.She was addressing a press conference in Aurangabad in Maharashtra.Cooking gas LPG price on Wednesday was hiked by a steep Rs 144.5 per cylinder due to spurt in benchmark global rates of the fuel.But to insulate domestic users, the Union government almost doubled the subsidy it provides on the fuel to keep per cylinder outgo almost unchanged.LPG price was increased to Rs 858.50 per 14.2 kg cylinder from Rs 714 previously, which is the steepest hike in rates since January 2014 when prices had gone up by Rs 220 per cylinder to Rs 1,241."With this hike in LPG cylinder prices, the Narendra Modi government is pickpocketing the savings of the common man," she said."The country ranks 102nd in the hunger index of 130 countries. Yet the Centre curtailed funds for food security by Rs 75,000 crore. Allocation for SC/STs, which should be 16 per cent as per population, is merely 2-3 per cent under the Modi government," she added.She attacked the Centre for planning to sell assets like Air India and Life Insurance Corporation.Karat said the CPI(M) would hold door-to-door campaign against the Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Register of Citizens, and the National Population Register as these moves are the Centre's "political trishul" to attack the Constitution."The Maharashtra government should clear its stand on CAA, NRC and NPR," she demanded.
