Thaindian News

Kolkata, May 23 (IANS) West Bengal’s Left parties Wednesday threatened to hit the streets against the petrol price hike and slammed the Trinamool Congress for enjoying power as a partner of the central government while making a public show of protest.

“We had earlier said the petrol prices will be raised. Food inflation is in double digits. Value of rupee is down. We will protest on the streets alongside the masses,” Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) politburo member and opposition leader Surya Kanta Mishra told IANS over phone.

Communist Party of India state secretary Manju Kumar Majumdar called the petrol price hike the United Progressive Alliance government’s “gift” to the people on its third anniversary.

“I think more such gifts are in the offing,” he said.

Attacking Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who said her party will protest the hike but not pull out of the UPA government, he said: “If she is really disturbed, then she should come out of the coalition.”

Revolutionary Socialist Party state secretary Kshiti Goswami said the situation was “horrible” and the people in the lower strata of the society would be the worst sufferers.

“We will chalk out a mass movement,” he said.

Forward Bloc leader Naren Chatterjee said the central government should not have gone for such a massive hike in one go. “In the name of coalition politics, they delayed the decision of the hike. And now they have effected such a major hike.”

He said the central government was sandwiched between the pressures put on it by the United States and Mamata Banerjee.

Petrol prices have been hiked by Rs.6.28 per litre, exclusive of taxes, effective midnight, it was announced Wednesday.