Kolkata, Feb 25 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday demanded immediate roll back of fuel prices by 50 per cent and threatened a strong movement if it was not done.
Banerjee who travelled to and back from the secretariat on a scooter as a mark of protest against fuel price hike, told reporters that it was a "mystery" why prices of petrol, diesel and LPG were not brought down in the country despite the decrease in international crude price by 50 per cent in recent times.
She alleged that Rs 4000 crore subsidy for kerosene, which is used by the poor for cooking purposes, has been withdrawn. This has created "tremendous problem" for about two crore poor people in the state, who have now to buy it from the open market at high prices.
"We demand that the price of LPG be rolled back from Rs 825 to Rs 400 per cylinder, which was the price before Narendra Modi came to power. The present high price is creating tremendous burden on the middle class who use two cylinders in a month.
"If there is no corrective measure we will launch a strong movement like the farmers agitation in Delhi," said the fiesty TMC supremo, who is one of the sharpest critics of BJP.
Referring to the frequent visits of top BJP leaders to the poll-bound state, Banerjee said "Every day a leader (from BJP) visits the state to spread falsehoods. But these leaders remain silent about the escalation in the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG and about the unavailability of kerosene for the poor.
"But we (TMC) will not allow them to run away from these issues. We will launch a movement highlighting people's problems," she asserted.
In an apparent reference to raids by ED and CBI on TC leaders in recent times, Banerjee said "You cannot terrorise us with agencies, you cannot silence us".
Banerjee travelled to the secretariat, which is located in Howrah on the other side of the Ganga from Hazra crossing near her home in the city in a scooter. While she was a pillion rider on the way to the secretariat, she was seen on the driver's seat for a major part of the 7 km distance on the way back.
"Today was the first time I was riding a scooter. If the progress is so good, I will soon be able to ride more effortlessly in the coming days. Today this was my protest against the hike in fuel price," she said.
Taking a dig at Banerjee, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said "She can neither drive a vehicle nor run the state.
Also if Banerjee did not ride a scooter earlier, she is apparently not in possession of a driving license. How can she ride in a public place? She shouldn't be allowed".
WBPCC president Adhir Choudhury said Banerjee was resorting to drama ahead of the state election.
The TMC government in the state did not do its bit by slashing the value added tax on petro prices for the past one year despite repeated requests by the Congress, he added.
