LF demands price roll back of petro products, claims strike total

Kolkata, Jun 5 (UNI) Maintaining their tirade against price hike of petro products, the ruling Left Front today urged the Centre to roll it back and resolved to continue the agitation till their demands were met.

Addressing mediapersons after the Front-sponsored 12-hour Bengal bandh protesting the price hike here, Front Chairman and CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose said taking into account the nation-wide protest against the price rise of petrol, diesel and LPG, the Congress-led UPA government should immediately roll back the prices.

Terming the state-wide strike as ''total and peaceful,'' Mr Bose said the bandh was ''spontaneous'' in both agricultural and industrial belts while it evoked mixed response in tea gardens.

He said the rate of sales tax of petroleum products in Congress and BJP-ruled states was much higher than the Leftist states and urged those states to ''follow suit'' in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura in this regard.

Branding tomorrow's Trinamool Congress sponsored Bengal bandh on the same issue as ''unnecessary,'' Mr Bose appealed to the party supremo to withdraw the strike as ''the purpose was already served'' by today's bandh.

He said the NDA government had increased the price of petroleum products on a number of occasions but Trinamool Congress, being a party to it, did not lodge any protest.

Mr Bose claimed that if the Trinamool Congress had called the bandh earlier than the Leftists on the issue, the latter would have supported the strike.

Lambasting the Trinamool Congress for branding the Leftists as ''part and parcel'' of the Union government, he observed that extending outside support to the government did not establish the adjective saying the Left had earlier also raised their protests against anti-people policies.

Mr Bose, however, admitted that some ''inconveniences'' was caused to the passengers at the airport and long distance trains too were affected by the strike.

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