Kolkata : Terming the Trinamool Congress protests against the petrol price hike as “doublespeak”, West Bengal’s Left Front major Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Monday noted that the decision to decontrol prices had been taken when party supremo Mamata Banerjee was a cabinet minister.
“It is nothing but doublespeak to confuse the people,” Bose said at an event here marking the November Revolution.
Bose’s comments came a day before the Trinamool MPs are slated to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to express their concern over the issue.
“When the petrol price was decontrolled, Mamata Bannerjee was railway minister – a part of the cabinet. Why didn’t she protest then,” he asked.
Bose pointed out that petrol was decontrolled on June 28, 2010 and Banerjee quit the cabinet after her party’s victory in the 2011 West Bengal assembly elections.
“When you are in the cabinet, you allow the prices to be increased. what is the meaning of protesting against the price rise now,” he asked.
All trade unions would take part in protest Tuesday against the petrol price hike and the central government’s anti-people policies, he said.
Giving a virtual ultimatum, Trinamool – with 18 MPs the second largest partner in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance – had Friday threatened to quit the coalition against “repeated unilateral decisions” to raise fuel and coal prices but Banerjee kept the decision pending and sought a meeting with Manmohan Singh, who was then in Cannes attending the G20 summit.
The price of petrol was hiked by Rs.1.80 a litre Friday, the 11th such increase in 12 months.
IANS
