Thaindian News

Kolkata, Feb 27 (IANS) Hundreds of Trinamool Congress activists Saturday hit the streets of Kolkata protesting the fuel price hike, with the party saying it would urge the central government to reconsider the duties and excise imposed on petrol and diesel in the budget for 2010-11. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers also took out a rally on the same issue.
The Trinamool rally, headed by party leader in parliament Sudip Bandhopadhyay, was taken out from Moulali to Esplanade in central Kolkata.

“We were not consulted anything about this fuel price hike issue. We are completely against this decision,” Bandhopadhyay told reporters here.

Asked why the Trinamool Congress did not stage protest when all opposition political parties walked out from parliament Friday, he said: “Being a United Progressive Alliance (UPA) ally, we cannot walk out from parliament.

“But we will continue to protest against the fuel price rise being very much within the UPA combine. In a parliamentary democracy, every party has the right to speak about any issue they think right,” he said.

Meanwhile, BJP workers also took out a rally to protest the fuel price rise issue.

“We oppose this decision of the UPA government. It’s a black budget,” the BJP’s West Bengal president, Rahul Sinha, said.

He said the fuel price hike would have a cascading effect on essential commodities across the country as transportation costs would go up.

He also criticised the role of Trinamool Congress, saying the state’s principal opposition should immediately come out of the UPA.

“They (Trinamool) should not take a dual path. On one hand they are opposing the petroleum price rise and on the other they are associated with the ruling coalition. Both cannot go hand in hand,” Sinha said.

“The Trinamool Congress is just playing a drama and misguiding the common people of the state,” he alleged.