Jalaun (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 16 (ANI): Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav targeted the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government during her visit to Orai, raising concerns over rising inflation and the alleged shortage of LPG cylinders.

Speaking to party workers and residents in Orai, Dimple Yadav on Sunday said that the common people are continuously facing difficulties due to the policies of the government.

She alleged that earlier 'people had to stand in long queues outside banks during demonetisation', followed by hardships faced during the Covid pandemic, and 'now people are again forced to stand in lines to obtain LPG cylinders'.

Yadav said that rising prices have severely affected poor and middle-class families, adding that the increasing cost and availability issues of cooking gas have put an additional burden on household budgets.

She urged the government to pay attention to the problems faced by the public and ensure the availability of essential commodities.

'We saw during the demonetization, how the entire public stood in lines, queues, for who knows how many hours. Then we saw how COVID struck, completely shutting down the railway system and all transportation, and people wandered from door to door to reach their homes, and from other states. And now, these are the circumstances, with the government claiming there's no LPG shortage. But if we were aware of the reality, we would see the extent of the shortage, the high prices, the black market, and people having to stand in lines for hours. But this government is a government that turns a blind eye and is unable to understand the people's problems,' Yadav said.

A large number of Samajwadi Party workers and residents were present during the programme.

Meanwhile, there have been no reports of dry-outs of gas supply at LPG distributorships across India, the government claimed on Sunday.

In a statement, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said that LPG bookings have shown a decline, with about 77 lakh bookings recorded yesterday compared to 88.8 lakh bookings on March 13.

Several States and UTs, including Bihar, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan, have issued orders for allocation of non-domestic LPG in line with government guidelines.

The Ministry said that commercial LPG cylinders have been placed at the disposal of State Governments for priority distribution and are now available to consumers in 30 States and UTs.Similarly, no cases of fuel dry-outs have been reported at retail outlets by Oil Marketing Companies, and supplies of petrol and diesel continue to be maintained regularly, the ministry said.

However, citizens are advised not to resort to panic buying as adequate stocks of petrol and diesel are available across the country. (ANI)