Govt lied about giving 3 free LPG cylinders: GFP

Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant and BJP “lied about providing three free gas cylinders” to families in Goa, said Goa Forward Party (GFP) on Monday.
GFP said government documents that have been obtained through RTI indicate that the scheme has been scrapped.
In its manifesto released in February 2022, BJP promised three free LPG cylinders to every household in Goa. This scheme, said GFP, was aimed at women voters during the assembly polls.
“Women are soft targets and BJP wanted to use this promise to target women and take their votes. We want to ask the CM to clarify whether he intends to implement this scheme and give free cylinders to the women in Goa,” said GFP vice-president advocate Ashma Sayed.
RTI documents show that the proposal to provide three free LPG cylinders was submitted by the rural development agency (RDA) in June, but the finance department appeared to have raised concerns about the scheme.
Margao Municipal Council (MMC) councillor Nimisha Faleiro questioned the BJP Mahila wing’s silence on the matter. “Where are the mahila BJP who had come on the streets aggressively during the 2019 Panaji elections? Are they quiet because the women of the mahila mandal of the BJP get these cylinders under a special scheme?” said Faleiro.
Ashma said that the government file notings suggest that BJP never wanted to implement the free gas cylinder proposal.