Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar and Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala during a press conference in Bengaluru. For representation purposes only. File | Photo credit: Special arrangement
The Congress on Tuesday (April 7, 2026) accused the Union government of precipitating a “full-blown livelihood crisis” in Karnataka by mismanaging LPG and fuel supplies, severely impacting auto drivers, small businesses and gig workers.
In a joint statement, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy DK Shivakumar and Congress general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala said that more than five million auto drivers and millions of small hotel owners, vendors and delivery men are facing unprecedented hardship due to price hike, shortage of supplies and alleged administrative failure by the Centre.
They demanded accountability from Union ministers from Karnataka.
“The catastrophic mismanagement of LPG and the fuel ecosystem by the Modi government has created a full-blown livelihood crisis across Karnataka,” they said in a statement.
Highlighting the sharp escalation in prices, the statement noted that auto LPG prices rose from ₹58-61 per liter in March to ₹105-120 per liter within weeks.
They further alleged that private outlets were charging up to ₹125 to ₹135 per liter while government outlets have largely shut down.
Pointing to an “artificial scarcity” of the fuel, the leaders claimed that the number of LPG/CNG stations operating in Bengaluru has dropped from 60 to 70 to barely 10 to 15, representing nearly 80% downtime.
They said the daily supply has been halved from 12,000 liters to 6,000 liters with fuel being rationed at ₹400 per vehicle, forcing drivers to queue for hours since early morning.
They pointed out that Karnataka’s more than five lakh vehicles form the backbone of last-mile connectivity and warned that nearly half were off the roads while others were losing productive hours due to long queues. The statement criticized proposals to switch to petrol as impractical and unaffordable given rising petrol prices and scrapped petrol vehicles.
On the impact of rising commercial LPG prices, the leaders said that the ₹200 hike from April 1 has pushed the cost of a 19kg cylinder above ₹2,000, adding that after a multiple hike in 45 days, the prices reached ₹2,161 per cylinder and were reportedly being sold in the black market for as low as ₹0,000.
This, they say, has hit small restaurants, roadside vendors and concert workers who depend on food services hard.
Confirming that LPG supply is controlled by the Center through Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), they said, “Let’s be absolutely clear; LPG supply in India is controlled by the central government through OMCs. States have no control over purchase or allocation.” They further argued that despite emergency supply orders, the companies appeared to be ignoring the directives, indicating mismanagement.
The leaders expressed concern about the black market and possible further price increases after the upcoming elections.
“It’s not just a fuel crisis. It’s an emergency that affects millions of citizens,” they added.
Describing the situation as a “failure of leadership”, Congress leaders said the Centre’s inaction was pushing the working class to the brink and warned that public anger would be reflected in the upcoming assembly elections in Davanagere South and Bagalkote, as well as in other polls across the country.
Published – 07 Apr 2026 13:33 IST
