Give It Up for Modi! Indian PM Praised for Offering Free Gas to the Poor

India’s political activists supported Narendra Modi's initiative to provide poor families with free gas, comparing him to Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, who is listened to and followed by the whole country.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, a scheme which provides 50 million people with free liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections using money saved from gas users voluntarily giving up their subsidies, was launched on Sunday at Dahod, a small city in the Indian state of Gujarat.

"He [Modi] appealed to the well-to-do people to give up LPG subsidy for the poor and the response was unprecedented. Perhaps never before did any PM get such a massive response," Amit Shah, the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, said at the launch of the second phase of the scheme.

"On PM Modi's appeal, 10 million people have already given up their LPG subsidy, and it is not a small thing," he added.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh state, compared the Prime Minister to Mahatma Gandhi, saying "First, the world would keenly listen to everything Mahatma Gandhi said. Today, the world listens to Modi."

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was also kicked off on May 1 at Ballia city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The entire ‘Give-it-Up' campaign is estimated as Rs. 8,000 crore (US$ 1.2 billion) that will be needed for providing free LPG connections to families below poverty line.