Bhubaneswar, Aug 29 (PTI) The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Tuesday described the Centre's decision to slash LPG prices by Rs 200 as an election gimmick.

People wanted the deduction to be more, senior BJD leader and Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera said.

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Earlier in the day, the central government announced a Rs 200 per cylinder cut in prices of domestic cooking gas.

“When the price of crude oil goes down in the International market, is it not passed on to the consumers. They (Central government) were unable to see the tears of women then. They are now feeling the pain of the people only because the election is only four-five months away,” Behera told PTI.

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Cooking gas prices have shot up in the last couple of years and have become a major election issue.

Announcing the decision in New Delhi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, however, said it was a gift from the Narendra Modi government to women on the occasion of Onam and Raksha Bandhan.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)