Just ahead of Diwali, women from Shalimar Bagh, Delhi, staged a protest on Saturday outside Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s residence, demanding that the BJP fulfil its promise of free gas cylinders for every household during the festive season.
The protesters held placards with slogans such as “Aa Gaya Diwali ka tyohaar, muft cylinder do Rekha Sarkar” (The festival of Diwali has arrived, give us free cylinders, CM Rekha) and “Jhuta jumla, jhuta prachar, muft cylinder kahan hai Sarkar?” (False promises, false publicity, where are the free cylinders?).
A woman leading the protest said, “Holi has passed, but we weren’t allowed to make sweets at home. Now Diwali is here, today is Dhanteras, and on this auspicious occasion, we hope CM Rekha Gupta will provide free cylinders to all of us sisters, bring happiness to our homes, so that we can make sweets for Diwali and celebrate the festival with our families.”
दिवाली का फ्री सिलेंडर माँगने शालीमार बाग़, दिल्ली की महिलायें CM रेखा गुप्ता जी के घर पहुँची हैं
“मोदी की गारंटी” थी होली दिवाली पर हर घर को फ्री सिलेंडर pic.twitter.com/G1hDiavZit---Advertisement---— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) October 18, 2025
This is not the first protest over the issue. A similar demonstration took place in March 2025, when the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) raised the demand for free LPG cylinders on the occasion of Holi. Apparently, AAP could be behind today’s protest. At the time, the party had staged protests at nearly 40 locations across the capital.
