Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday targeted Narendra Modi over the rise in LPG prices amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East, and announced that the All India Trinamool Congress will hold a protest rally in Kolkata on March 16.
“The war started right after the prime minister returned from Israel. Didn’t he know anything?” In response to the domestic LPG shortage and the sudden rise in LPG prices for cars in the state – Banerjee told a news channel – $57.06 litres $62.88 – which affected the public transportation system on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Modi was on a two-day tour of Israel on February 25 and 26. US and Israeli missile attacks on Iran began on February 28.
Banerjee accused the Prime Minister and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of implementing the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) on Tuesday instead of taking timely action.
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“What happened to the stocks we had? Why wasn’t action taken on time instead of the SEC suddenly applying? Was there no planning? And this is not just because of the war. The price of a local LPG cylinder reached $100.” $400 in 2014. They raised it to $“1,000 during these years,” Banerjee said, targeting the BJP-led NDA government, which came to power for the first time in 15 years.
He asked, “Is there really a shortage? Or did they (the center) keep the stock so that the fuel could be used during the elections?” Banerjee said, referring to the upcoming elections in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Referring to earlier statements made by some BJP leaders in the state that Banerjee was free to sacrifice the Bengal government’s fuel moratorium share if she was so concerned, the chief minister said even this would not help in the current situation.
“I can provide support, but it will not help because there is no supply,” she said. “What can the general public do if the government starts hoarding oil? This is the purview of the Federal Oil Ministry.”
“Thousands of people in the food and catering industry have been affected. Big businessmen can manage one way or another, but what happens to the small ones? Those who deliver food have also been affected. I am told that rickshaw drivers have had to hike prices. Where will the common people go?” Banerjee said.
Regarding the deletion of around 12 million names by the Election Commission of India during the ongoing Special Intensive Review (SIR) of Bengal’s electoral register, she said: “Help common people instead of deleting their names.”
No Bangladesh BJP leader responded to Banerjee’s statements until the story was filed.
