Gas industry angry after the minister said to 'tighten the leaves', warning of strict action if he does not retract his statement

24 August, Kathmandu. A new controversy has been created after Industry Minister Gauri Kumari Yadav said that 'all gas industries should be closed and licenses should be revoked' while the stakeholders are discussing how to facilitate the supply system of LP gas for cooking in the market.

Minister Yadav did not stop at the meeting of the Industry Committee on Wednesday. She expressed that the gas industry would be 'tightened' and the license of the industry would be revoked, which made the businessmen angry.

While the industry committee meeting was going on, a discussion was held between Nepal Oil Corporation and businessmen for easy supply of gas. During the said discussion, the gas industry expressed anger that Minister Yadav had made an industry-targeted statement in the parliament's industry committee meeting.

Diwan Chand, president of LP Gas Industry Association of Nepal, said that the government and the private sector should work together in times of crisis, but the use of such threatening language by the minister has made them very disappointed and discouraged.

Chairman Chand has given a challenge by saying that he is ready to hand over his entire industry to the government. He said that he has informed the office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers about this, demanding immediate withdrawal of unlimited words like Pata Kasne.

"We have already called the Prime Minister's Office and informed about this matter," he said, "it is difficult to work when the minister openly threatens like this."

It is the position of the businessmen that they have no intention of any kind of conflict with the government, but they cannot live with insults and threats to shut down the industry.

Industrialists have warned that they will be forced to take strict action if Minister Yadav does not correct his statement. Although the current main responsibility is to eliminate the shortage of gas, they believe that the trend of placing all the blame on the businessmen is wrong. If this coldness between the minister and businessmen is not resolved through dialogue, there is a risk that it may have a more serious impact on the gas supply system itself.