Trinamool Congress demands rollback of petro prices

UPA ally Trinamool Congress today launched street protests here to demand immediate rollback of fuel price hike, but remained non-committal on BJP's move to bring cut motions to censure the government.

"Let us see the development and we will act as the situation develops," TC's Chief Whip in Lok Sabha Sudip Bandhopadhay, who led the protests, told PTI when asked whether the party would support BJP's cut motion.

Bandhopadhay, whose party faces civic and municipal polls in West Bengal in May-June, said "in the backdrop of the overall price rise, it is not the appropriate time to increase fuel prices.

"When the budget will be debated we will express our annoyance against the fuel price hike and tell how it will put more burden on the people already hit by soaring prices of essential commodities."

"The government should not make it a prestige issue and rollback the hike. The government's image will be enhanced in the eyes of the people if it rolls back the price hike," the TC chief whip said.

He further said the fuel price hike will have "a cascading effect" on food prices and the Mamata Banerjee-led party will not support it.

The budgetary proposal on hike in central excise duty on petrol and diesel and all non-petroleum products has already sparked a demand for a rollback from another UPA ally, the DMK.