Kolkata: Mamata Banerjee has struck out at the Congress over the hike in petrol prices. After meeting with senior MPs from her party in Kolkata, Ms Banerjee, visibly angry, said her party had not been consulted about the hike, and that her MPs are willing to resign if they are excluded from decisions like this one which affect the common man.
"We stand by the people," Ms Banerjee said. But the Congress can exhale. So far, Ms Banerjee has not said her Trinamool Congress (TMC) will quit the government. With her 18 Lok Sabha MPs, Ms Banerjee is an indispensable part of the UPA. This morning, Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi who is from the TMC said the party had "not even been informed over the phone" about the new petrol hike.
The latest petrol price hike of Rs 1.82 - the second in two months - has created a new friction between the Congress and its main allies in the UPA coalition at the Centre.
Farooq Abdullah's National Conference, Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) have all said they do not support the new price rise, and were not consulted by the Congress. Mr Pawar's party says it will formally convey its objections to the Prime Minister.
So far, petrol prices have been increased five times this year. They were last increased in September by Rs. 3.14.
So now, in Delhi, petrol costs Rs. 68.64 as compared to Rs. 58.37 in January. Bangalore is hit the worst; it now pays Rs. 75.64 per litre.
The government in June last year deregulated or freed petrol from all price controls. State-owned oil companies - Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum - say they are facing losses of Rs. 333 crore a day. They say the latest price hike was the result of rising crude oil prices and a weaker rupee.
"We stand by the people," Ms Banerjee said. But the Congress can exhale. So far, Ms Banerjee has not said her Trinamool Congress (TMC) will quit the government. With her 18 Lok Sabha MPs, Ms Banerjee is an indispensable part of the UPA. This morning, Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi who is from the TMC said the party had "not even been informed over the phone" about the new petrol hike.
The latest petrol price hike of Rs 1.82 - the second in two months - has created a new friction between the Congress and its main allies in the UPA coalition at the Centre.
Farooq Abdullah's National Conference, Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) have all said they do not support the new price rise, and were not consulted by the Congress. Mr Pawar's party says it will formally convey its objections to the Prime Minister.
So far, petrol prices have been increased five times this year. They were last increased in September by Rs. 3.14.
So now, in Delhi, petrol costs Rs. 68.64 as compared to Rs. 58.37 in January. Bangalore is hit the worst; it now pays Rs. 75.64 per litre.
The government in June last year deregulated or freed petrol from all price controls. State-owned oil companies - Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum - say they are facing losses of Rs. 333 crore a day. They say the latest price hike was the result of rising crude oil prices and a weaker rupee.
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