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Bengal BJP protest over state fuel tax stopped, told it violates Covid protocol
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh, responding to BJP criticism for denial of permission by the police, said Bengal leaders should collect information on Covid protocols from the Tripura police which stopped all TMC rallies in that state citing the same rules.
KOLKATA: The Kolkata Police on Monday did not allow a Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) protest to demand that Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) slash the state tax on petrol and diesel, citing violation of safety protocols during the Covid pandemic.
A few hundred BJP supporters, who assembled outside the BJP’s state headquarters at the narrow Muralidhar Sen Lane off Central Avenue, were not allowed to cross barricades set up by a huge police contingent. The state’s top BJP leaders eventually gave their speeches from a makeshift dais.
“The Trinamool Congress (TMC) government cannot stop us with force. It has to follow the example set by other states and slash the local value-added tax (VAT) on fuel. Our movement will continue. We will force the government to reduce the VAT. We will also start an agitation demanding reduction in electricity price,” said BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar.
BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh and leader of the opposition in the Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, were among the leaders who addressed the gathering. Majumdar announced that a one-hour public awareness campaign will be carried out at petrol pumps across the state on Tuesday.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee responded to her critics in her speech at a government programme to distribute awards among community Durga puja organisers.
“The Centre raised ₹400,000 crore from tax on petrol, diesel and LPG but does not even give enough vaccines to us. In Bengal, we have cut taxes on diesel by a rupee. We are trying to do our best with limited resources,” said Banerjee.
Refuting the BJP’s allegations that the government stopped its agitation, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said, “Bengal BJP leaders should collect information on Covid protocols from the Tripura police which stopped all our rallies in that state citing the same rules. Law does not vary from state to state.”
After several BJP-ruled states such as Assam, Tripura, Goa, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat followed the Centre and reduced local taxes on petrol and diesel on October 3, the party’s West Bengal unit mounted pressure on Banerjee, demanding a similar step.
Of the total taxes charged on prices of petrol and diesel in Bengal, the state’s share accounts for around 37%. In February, Banerjee reduced the state tax by a rupee per litre but there has been no further revision since then. The TMC, as well as opposition parties such as the Congress, have held demonstrations against the Centre on the price issue in recent months.
The Centre announced its decision to reduce central tax on petrol by ₹5 and on diesel ₹10 on Diwali eve, a move that led to a decline in the retail price of petrol by ₹5.70 to ₹6.35 per litre across the country while diesel prices came down by ₹11.16 to ₹12.88 depending on the applicable state taxes.
The Yogi Adityanath government in UP announced that prices of both fuels will be reduced by ₹12 per litre.
