Bengal BJP demands Mamata Banerjee govt to reduce state taxes on fuel, says ‘will gherao Nabanna if needed’
“BJP workers all over the state will take out rallies in the coming days. The protests will assume such a proportion that the voice of the people will reach the chief minister's office on the 14th floor of state secretariat Nabanna,” Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar said.
The West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday held protests against the state government in Kolkata, demanding the reduction in Value Added Taxes (VAT) levied on petrol and diesel. Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, who led the agitation at Maniktala in the centre of the city, said that the demonstrations would be intensified and the party would take the protests to state secretariat Nabanna.
“BJP workers all over the state will take out rallies in the coming days. The protests will assume such a proportion that the voice of the people will reach the chief minister's office on the 14th floor of state secretariat Nabanna,” news agency PTI quoted Majumdar as saying.
The Bengal BJP demanded that the state government should reduce the VAT on fuels after the Centre had slashed the excise duty on petroleum products. “ The protests will force her to listen to the just demand of people and match the Narendra Modi government's decision to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel,” Majumdar said.
Meanwhile, leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari protested in front of the state assembly building. “Many states have reduced their taxes after the central government gave tax exemptions on petrol and diesel, but the West Bengal government has not yet done so,” the Bengal BJP said. The party also said that the protests will continue under Adhikari’s leadership until the state government heeds to their demand.
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Earlier on Monday, several party workers clashed with the state police in Kolkata after they were stopped from taking out a rally, according to a news report by PTI. Further, the party also set a seven-day deadline for the Mamata Banerjee-led government to reduce state taxes on fuel, after which it threatened to launch a wider movement.
“Oil prices have been reduced in NDA-ruled states but the state government has been silent on reducing oil prices in Bengal. Like every time, this time the police stopped us,” Majumder said during a press briefing on Monday. “The Prime Minister has done his duty by lowering the price of oil, but the Chief Minister is not trying to fulfill her duty! The BJP will launch an awareness campaign at every petrol pump tomorrow,” he further said.
