Kolkata, Nov 7: Ahead of her party MPs' meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi tomorrow over fuel price hike, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today said her party would not compromise on the price rise issue.
“We will not compromise on the price rise issue which is hitting the common man most. Our battle will go on. Our party MPs will meet the Prime Minister tomorrow, if he gives time, and express our grievances and listen to what he says,” the West Bengal Chief Minister told PTI.
In a bid to put pressure on the government, Trinamool Congress, the second largest constituent of the UPA with 18 Lok Sabha and six Rajya Sabha MPs, held an emergency meeting of its parliamentary party last week after which Banerjee said the leaders favoured withdrawal of support but later she put on hold such a move.
“There is also talk of increasing diesel and LPG prices. Trinamool Congress is a pro-people party. Already people are overburdened with rising prices. We are not going to accept it,” Mamata said.
Her party colleague and Union minister Sudip Bandyopadhyay said today before leaving for Delhi that “after a talk with Prime Minister, we will return here on November 9 and report to party chief Mamata Banerjee who will take the final call.”
According to Bandopadhyay, Mamata had complained that despite her repeated pleas, there existed no co-ordination committee in UPA consisting of allies.
Sharply reacting to criticism in ‘certain quarters' that Mamata Banerjee, who was the then Railway minister and part of Empowered Group of Ministers that had in June 2010 decided to deregulate or free petrol prices, Bandopadhyay said “Mamata did not attend the meeting of EGOM where such a decision was taken.
“Trinamool Congress had never been taken into confidence by the UPA government in taking policy decisions of the government,” he claimed.
Bandyopadhyay pointed out “it was Mamata Banerjee who gave a note of dissent in the (union) cabinet on the land bill which had to be subsequently recast in the light of the points raised by her.”
Meanwhile, state industry minister Partha Chatterjee said the chief minister would be present at a meeting tomorrow in the Raj Bhavan where Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee would discuss the state's financial health.
He, however, clarified that the meeting had been scheduled about 10 days before the pull-out threat on the fuel price hike issue.
