Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday criticised the Central government's recent hike in LPG cylinder prices, questioning whether “the stoves in people's homes should be burning—or their stomachs with hunger.”

In a post on X, Stalin accused the BJP-led Union government of increasing excise duty on petrol and diesel even as global crude oil prices have fallen. He said citizens were not demanding price cuts, but simply asking that rates not be increased further.

“Should the stoves in people's homes be burning—or should their stomachs be burning with hunger? If you can't help, at least don't hurt' suits the sadistic BJP government perfectly,” Stalin wrote on X.

“At a time when global crude oil prices have dropped, the people of this country are now in a pitiful situation—not even asking for a price cut, but begging the government to not increase it further!” he added.

“Salt to a burning wound”

Stalin further said that the increase in cooking gas prices amounted to rubbing “salt to a burning wound.”

He accused the BJP government of staging a pattern of sharp price increases followed by minor reductions just ahead of elections.

“Dear citizens, the BJP has made it a routine to drastically hike prices and then stage a drama of giving minor reductions just before elections. We've seen this act so many times, it's almost become normal,” Stalin said.

“To the Union BJP Government—Don't wait for the elections to approach—roll back this price hike immediately!” he urged.

Revised fuel and LPG prices

The Central government has now increased the excise duty on both petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre, effective from Tuesday, as per a notification issued by the Department of Revenue.

The current excise duty on petrol, which stood at Rs 19.90 per litre, will now be Rs 21.90 per litre. For diesel, the duty has risen from Rs 15.80 per litre to Rs 17.80 per litre.

In Delhi, the retail price of petrol is Rs 94.77 per litre, while diesel is priced at Rs 87.67 per litre.

Despite a decline in global crude oil prices—from over USD 70 per barrel to USD 63 per barrel on Monday—the government has moved ahead with the fuel duty hike, boosting margins for oil marketing companies.

LPG cylinders to cost Rs 50 more

Union Minister Hardeep Puri, speaking at a press conference on Monday, announced that LPG cylinders would become Rs 50 more expensive starting Tuesday.

“The price per cylinder of LPG will increase by Rs 50. From Rs 500, it will go up to Rs 550 (for PMUY beneficiaries), and for others, it will go up from Rs 803 to Rs 853,” Puri said.

“This is a step which we will review as we go along. We review these every 2–3 weeks,” he added.

ANI