Congress MP Manickam Tagore

| Photo Credit: File picture

The Union government should immediately withdraw its announcement on the reduction of subsidised LPG cylinders under the Ujjwala scheme to four from nine, said Congress MP Manickam Tagore here on Tuesday.Speaking to media persons, he said that the Centre should not point its fingers to the West Asia conflict. After announcing its schemes, especially, for economically weaker sections, withdrawing the same displayed the inability to withstand such external pressures.The issues in supply of LPG globally might be a reason for reducing the number of refills from nine to four under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). However, it was not acceptable as the Modi government was partial only to the poor, while it compromised on several issues for the capitalists, who were enjoying the benefits, the MP alleged.The Congress would certainly raise the issue in Parliament, he said and added that the Union government’s wrong policies and poor preparedness had forced the common man in deep trouble. Be it on the economic policies or on NEET-like examination or in the CBSE imbroglio, there was no accountability from the Centre.On the performance of the TVK in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Manickam Tagore said Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay and his cabinet colleagues were determined to give good governance. “Overhauling a bad engine was not that easy. They are sincere and serious about delivering corruption free government. We have to give some time for them to act,” he added.Taking a dig at the DMK, the Congress MP said the people had given a verdict in favour of Mr. Vijay. Hence, the DMK or any other party should remain silent. Just within a fortnight, criticising the government’s action on a daily basis showed their (DMK) frustration. “The DMK is out of power and it is not able to stomach the fact,” he added.The INDIA bloc was a combination of democratic forces and it showed how internally, the alliance partners had the chance to air their views independently. “Will it be possible to talk against Mr. Modi by any NDA allies?,” he asked. Published - June 09, 2026 08:35 pm IST