Kolkata: Coming down heavily on the BJP, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said the soaring prices of essential commodities will result in the middle-class being badly hit which will, in turn, become a question of their basic sustenance.
"The hike in fuel price will affect the kitchen while the rise in the price of petrol and diesel will hit the transport sector badly," she told newsmen on Saturday.
The Chief Minister also said that the price of cooking gas has skyrocketed without any rhyme or reason. "Things are going beyond the reach of the middle-class. How can they make their both ends meet? How can they sustain," she said and added: "But the Centre is not taking any measure to bring down the prices of petrol and diesel and that of the cooking gas."
It may be mentioned that the Trinamool Congress is the first national party to raise voice against the hike in the price of fuel. The Trinamool supremo had instructed
her party leaders to hold rallies and meetings throughout the state.
On Tuesday, the youth wing of the party had held a sit-in demonstration at the Gandhi Statue. The meeting was addressed by the president of the youth wing Abhishek Banerjee.
Banerjee has said over and again that the hike in the prices of petrol and diesel are affecting the transport sector badly. "The Centre is totally indifferent towards this problem faced by the common people," she maintained.
Asked if she would attend the meeting of the Niti Aayog scheduled to be held in
Delhi on June 16 to be presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Banerjee said: "How can I take part in the meeting as Eid will be celebrated on that day. I want to be by the side of my people on the day of festivals. I take part in Durga Puja, Eid and Christmas and I do not differentiate between communities. I think they did not check the calendar before fixing the date of the meeting."