Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], March 16 (ANI): Congress MLA Nana Patole on Monday accused the BJP government of misleading the public over the alleged LPG shortage in the country, saying that the government itself was “running on fumes”.
Speaking to the reporters, Nana Patole claimed that the Maharashtra Chief Minister has himself admitted a shortage of commercial gas cylinders. He demanded the state government present the “unvarnished reality”.
“CM Devendra Fadnavis mentioned that commercial gas cylinders are currently unavailable, though domestic gas supplies can be provided. This implies that commercial gas cannot be supplied. It signifies that there is a gas shortage, a fact the Chief Minister has effectively admitted. The government itself is now running on fumes…By claiming that there is no shortage, the Chief Minister is actively misleading the public. Why have industries and hotels across the state shut down?” he said.
“I intend to raise this question in the Legislative Assembly. The government must present the unvarnished reality; they should not resort to the kind of evasiveness they displayed during the COVID crisis, they must not lie again,” he added.
There have been no reports of dry-outs of gas supply at LPG distributorships across India, the government said on Sunday in its latest update.
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, 2026.
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.
Additionally, Nana Patole also reacted to the by-election announcement for the Rahuri and Baramati Assembly constituencies.
“No decision has been reached yet. The elections were announced only yesterday; we will sit down and make a decision on the matter shortly,” he said.
The seats fell vacant following the demise of MLA Shivaji Bhanudas Kardile from Rahuri and MLA Ajit Anantrao Pawar from Baramati. The by-elections will be conducted to fill these vacancies. The polling will be conducted on April 23.
ECI also announced the schedule for Assembly elections in four states–West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Assam–along with the Union Territory of Puducherry.
According to the schedule, polling in West Bengal will be conducted in two phases on April 23 and April 29. Kerala and Assam will vote in a single phase on April 9, while Tamil Nadu will go to the polls on April 23. Voting in Puducherry will also take place on April 9. The counting of votes for all four states and Puducherry will be held on May 4, the ECI announced.
Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar criticised the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in all the poll-bound states, alleging that the government is “misusing” the power to win the elections.
“SIR process was carried out to cut the votes of the opposition by the Election Commission of India. The government is misusing power to win the elections…BJP will not win elections in the Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Keralam, and the Union Territory of Puducherry, no matter how hard they try,” he said. (ANI)