Thaindian News

Kolkata, July 31 (IANS) Trinamool Congress would do nothing to pull down the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, though it was concerned over the recent fuel price hike, party chief and Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee said Saturday.
“We would like the government to consider reducing the prices to some extent. Like them (Communist Party of India-Marxist), we will not pull down the government. We are in total support of the central government,” Banerjee, whose party has 19 MPs in the Lok Sabha, told reporters here.

Asked to comment on CPI-M’s charge that her party was not vocal on the issue, she said since Trinamool was part of the coalition, it had sought a discussion in Parliament on the rise in prices of petroleum products under a rule which does not entail voting.

Accusing CPI-M for adopting “double-standards”, she said the party was stalling parliament with other opposition parties on the issue of price escalation and at the same time, raising the power tariff in West Bengal.

Demanding immediate reversal of the hike in power tariff, Banerjee said her party would demonstrate before all police stations in the state on the issue and also on price rise from Sunday (Aug 1) between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. across the state.

The Trinamool chief said she could not understand why the state government did not lift the cess on petroleum products like some other states.

“When petrol prices were hiked by Rs.4 a litre, the state government realised a cess of Rs.8 which is a burden on the common people,” she said.