The Centre on Tuesday cut cooking gas prices by Rs 200 a cylinder, prompting the Congress to quip that the principles of “demo-kursi,” not democracy, pushed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to offer the relief.

Effective from August 30, the new price in Calcutta will be Rs 929 a cylinder. For Ujjwala beneficiaries, the price will be Rs 729.

The price cut came after the Centre had extracted over Rs 1,120 a cylinder from non-subsidised households and Modi had lectured the nation on the destructive potential of “revdi (freebie) culture”. The Congress insisted the somersault was indisputably an outcome of the fear of losing elections.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said: “Jab vote lage ghatne, to chunavi tohfe lage batne (when votes started disappearing, electoral gifts started pouring).”

Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Till now, only TWO meetings have been held in the past TWO months by the INDIA alliance and today, we see that LPG prices have gone down by Rs. 200. Ye hai INDIA ka dum (This is the power of the INDIA partnership).”

Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said if people are wondering why the gas cylinder price was cut now, the answer lies in “kissa demo-kursi ka”. He was hinting that Modi wasn’t moved by the agonising struggle of the poor but the fear of losing the Prime Minister’s chair.

The Congress had mounted abnormal pressure on the government by providing the gas cylinder at Rs 500 in Himachal, Karnataka and Rajasthan and promising the same in Madhya Pradesh. An Opposition party subsidising the costly cylinder, despite the limited resources of the states, placed the Centre in an awkward situation, giving an extraordinary twist to the inflation narrative.

Modi first tried to confront this populism, which the Congress described as basic assistance to the people stuck in wretched poverty, by condemning it as “revdi culture” and warning of economic devastation.

But that logic evaporated as a vast section of the population is struggling because of rising unemployment and cost of living. Modi’s intervention on Tuesday is a desperate bid to save Madhya Pradesh and stay in the race in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

The prices of petrol and diesel as well as cooking gas have dominated the public discourse for quite some time now. Modi refused to offer any relief even when the international crude oil prices dipped.

On Tuesday, Modi posted on X in Hindi: “The festival of Raksha Bandhan is about increasing happiness within the family. The reduction in gas prices will provide more comfort to sisters in my family and make their life easier. May every sister of mine be happy and healthy, this is my wish from God.”

But Kharge said: “The cruel government which looted the hard-earned money of the citizens is now showing artificial sympathy for the mothers and sisters.”

Kharge added: “They ruined people’s lives by selling the cylinder worth Rs 400 for Rs 1,100 for nine years. Nobody thought of any affectionate gift then. Nothing will change by offering the election lollipop to the people after tormenting them for so long. You can’t wash your decade-long sins. The Congress is already committed to giving the cylinder for Rs 500. A subsidy of Rs 200 can’t subside people’s anger. The fear of INDIA is good. Modiji, people have made up their minds. They know the only way for curbing ‘mehngai’ is to show the BJP the exit door.”

Ramesh also recalled the pressure exerted by the Congress by providing the cylinder for Rs 500. He said: “The response has been phenomenal as people were hurting from BJP’s misgovernance. Three months before the five state elections, where the BJP is staring at certain defeat, and six months before the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is literally clutching at straws. Expect more such gifts in the coming months as the Prime Minister becomes even more desperate to cling to his chair.”