Sanjukta Morcha Protests Against Hike in Petrol Prices in Kolkata

Kolkata: Tens of thousands of Sanjukta morcha activists today took to the streets of Kolkata as they protested against the petrol price hike in the country. 

The march started from Entally market in Central Kolkata and culminated at Mahajati Sadan. The march saw participation of the Left Front Chairman Biman Basu, Leader of the Opposition Abdul Mannan, CPI(M) polit bureau member MD Salim, Congress leader Shubhankar Sarkar, CPI(M) LLP leader Sujan Chakraborty, RSP general secretary Manoj Bhattacharya, Forward Bloc state secretary Naren Chatterjee, MFB leader Jaihind Singh, and RCPI leader Mihir Baine among others. 

A huge replica of a gas cylinder was carried along with the march as part of the protest. After the march, Biman Basu told reporters that the bell of the protest in the city has been rung prior to Modi’s brigade rally. “He (PM) has not kept any of his promises. He talked of 14 crore jobs, but in reality, two crore people have lost their jobs,” said Basu.

He also pointed out that in 2014, when Modi came to power, the price of petrol was Rs 66 per litre and now, even though the price of oil has decreased in the international market, it is increasing in the Indian market. “In 2014, diesel was priced at Rs 48 per litre  and now it is nearly Rs 90. The price of cooking gas has touched an unprecedented high at nearly Rs 1,000 per cylinder,” he said.

He also took a jibe at the BJP for constructing air-conditioned tents at the Brigade parade ground.

Within 24 hours of announcing the candidature, Sanjukta Morcha candidates like Sushanta Ghosh (Salboni), Madhuja Sen Roy (Jhargram), Pulin Bihari Baske (Keshiary ) have started their poll campaigns with road rallies.

More and more names in TMC defectors’ list 

Trinamool Congress defectors’ list seems to be increasing in length as CM’s close aide and deputy speaker of Assembly Sonali Guha, too, has resigned and is all set to join BJP.  In as many as 17 Assembly segments, the newly announced candidates including filmmaker Raj Chakraborty and former soccer player Bidesh Basu are facing opposition from the local TMC workers. On the other hand, BJP with its ‘defection welcomed’ policy is becoming the natural destination for TMC leaders. In another setback to BJP, former railways minister Dinesh Tribedi joined BJP on Saturday in the presence of  BJP President JP Nadda.

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