AAP welcomes EC's order to defer doubling of gas price

New Delhi, March 25: Aam Aadmi Party on March 24 welcomed the Election Commission's direction to the central government to defer till elections the decision to double natural gas prices from April 1, saying it "comes as a major relief for the common man".

"The EC's decision comes as a major relief for the common man who would otherwise have suffered under the impact of the hike in transportation and fertiliser costs, which would have also pushed up the prices of all essential commodities," said a statement issued by the party late on Monday.

"AAP congratulates the people of the country for having supported the party stand on the issue," the statement reads. This "dishonest" decision of the UPA government was solely aimed at providing huge undue benefits to RIL and would have resulted in a loss of more than Rs 54,500 crore to the national exchequer, the statement reads.

The EC's decision comes as a major relief for the common man

Alleging that the UPA government has violated the Model Code of Conduct, AAP said the EC's decision within four days of the party's National Convenor sending a letter to it shows that the move was in a hurry to benefit RIL.

AAP said the gas pricing issue has exposed the "nexus" between RIL and Congress and BJP. "The gas pricing the issue has not only exposed the Congress but also the BJP and particularly its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi who has been maintaining a mysterious silence on this crucial issue... In the coming days AAP will further expose the nexus between RIL and Congress-BJP combine," the statement reads.

PTI