Launching a scathing attack on the Centre on Friday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday called the recent excise duty cut on petrol and diesel as a “gimmick”, comparing the government’s pricing strategy to a “deceptive retail discount”.
Addressing the media, Banerjee said, “Let the prices of diesel and petrol come down first. Their prices were already inflated. It’s like giving a Rs 400 discount on a saree after increasing its price by Rs 1,000. How much is the excise duty in reality, and how much will reducing it actually impact the price?”
Reiterating her demand that cooking gas produced in the state should not be diverted elsewhere in the country amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, the chief minister said the Centre must ensure that ordinary citizens do not suffer due to LPG allocations.
“I don’t want the gas produced in Haldia to go outside Bengal. Both petrol and gas cylinders are available in sufficient quantities. But gas cylinders produced in Haldia and elsewhere in the state should not be sent outside in a situation where SPs and DMs of our state have been removed (by the EC),” the CM said.
“Over 10 lakh people from outside the state would be deployed on poll duty. They will have to be given LPG connections. But that should not result in the shortage of cylinder supply to ordinary citizens,” she added.
Targeting the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the supplementary voter lists which she termed was a way of “selective deletion” of voters ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, Banerjee alleged that despite the Supreme Court’s directives, the lists remained “hidden from the public”.
“This is nothing short of murdering democracy,” she said, referring to the voter list published on February 28.
“I’ve heard that nearly 50% of the voters under adjudication have been deleted. Selective deletion has taken place. In the Suti Assembly, 400 out of 500 voters have been deleted. In Basirhat, roughly 400 out of 600 electors were removed. People will definitely seek answers,” Banerjee said.
Accusing the BJP of targeting specific communities to tilt the electoral scales, she used the “washing machine” jibe to describe the party’s influence.
“Nobody has the right to snatch people’s democratic rights. What is happening now has surpassed even the atrocious rule of Hitler. The washing machine of the BJP wants to wipe out people’s rights and the democracy of this country. Does the BJP think they are the zamindars? Will they keep running their washing machine in the name of ‘Vanish Kumar’? People will not tolerate this,” she said.
“For those wrongfully deleted, tribunals should be set up in every district to help them get re-enrolled in the voters’ list. We will provide free legal assistance. People of Bengal will give a befitting response in the ballot box,” she said.
Meanwhile, her chartered flight from Paschim Bardhaman landed in Kolkata after remaining airborne over the Kolkata airport for more than an hour as heavy rain and thunderstorms prevented it from landing on Thursday.
The chief minister was returning to Kolkata from Andal in Paschim Bardhaman district after addressing election rallies.
Praising the cabin crew after landing, she said, “The pilots were excellent. They saved our lives.”
Airport sources said the aircraft faced significant difficulties landing amid a severe thunderstorm in the city with the pilot of the aircraft making at least three attempts to land.
“At one point, the intensity of the storm decreased slightly, and the plane approached the runway, but the landing was aborted as the rain intensified again,” said an airport official.
The small jet had departed from Andal at 3.39 pm and was scheduled to land at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport around 4 pm.
“Due to adverse weather conditions, the chief minister’s flight was unable to land at Kolkata airport. As a precautionary measure, flight operations at the airport were temporarily suspended for approximately 20 minutes,” an airport official said.
The aircraft reportedly attempted to land at the Behala Flying Club at least three times before turning back toward the main airport. The CM’s aircraft eventually landed safely at 5.19 pm after weather conditions improved and flight operations resumed, officials added.