Taking a strong exception to the Congress-led Central Government’s ‘anti-Gujarat’ policies, Gujarat Government today fired a fresh salvo of protest for singling out Gujarat for reducing the State’s kerosene quota overnight by a whopping 32.19 per cent with effect from June 1, 2011.
The quota for supplying kerosene to states for distribution through fair price shops under the Public Distribution System (PDS) is decided by the Centre.

The state government ministers-spokespersons Jay Narayan Vyas and Saurabh Patel said this is for the third time in two years that the Centre did it to Gujarat. The monthly quota of 79,644 kilolitre (KL) prevailing from 2004-05 to 2008-09 was first time reduced by 0.02 per cent to 79,488 KL in July 2009, and further by 3.5 per cent to 76,712 KL from 2010-11 and the latest cut by 32.19 per cent to mere 52,020 KL per month from this month.

The quota was reduced in some other states too, by 0.03 per cent in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh 0.08 per cent, Haryana 10.64 per cent, Andhra Pradesh 13.11 per cent and in Kerala by 14.84 per cent. Nowhere, it is near 32.19 per cent as in Gujarat.

The ministers said the decision is sure to hit the poor housewives most, as it is they who have to cook for the families. Ironically, they said, the decision was taken by the Delhi durbar which is headed by a woman as its supreme leader.

They recalled that Centre continued to force Gujarat in the matter of buying imported CNG from Petronet too at Rs.8.35 per unit higher cost, while allocating CNG at administered prices as per KG basin formula to the Congress-led states like Maharashtra and Delhi and to Metros like Mumbai.

The ministers regretted the Central Government’s decision smacks of political vendetta which is likely to boomerang in case the women