new Delhi: Hitting out at the Center over rising fuel prices, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said India’s economic condition is worse than neighboring Sri Lanka.
While addressing the virtual press conference, Mamta Banerjee said, “The economic condition of Sri Lanka is bad but the condition of India is worse than Sri Lanka. Fuel prices have been increased here.”
Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 40 paise a liter on Monday, taking the total increase in rates over the past two weeks to Rs 8.40 a litre. This is the 12th increase in oil prices since March 22.
On Monday, the price of petrol in Kolkata was Rs 113.45 per liter and the price of diesel was Rs 98.22 per liter.
Sri Lanka is in the midst of its worst economic crisis, with citizens facing prolonged power outages and shortages of essential commodities. This has triggered widespread protests, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency and impose a curfew.
All 26 cabinet ministers submitted their resignations on Sunday due to unrest in the island nation.
Mamata Banerjee said that the Center should call all political parties to discuss the economic crisis in the country instead of using CBI and ED.
The TMC supremo also alleged that the Center allowed a steep hike in petrol and diesel prices to divert attention from the atrocities committed by the saffron party in non-BJP states.
“The Center has no plan to deal with the hike in fuel prices. The BJP is responsible for this crisis. This is his return to the country after winning the Uttar Pradesh elections,” he told reporters.
“Instead of using agencies like CBI and ED against opposition parties, the Center should convene an all-party meeting to resolve the ongoing economic problems,” the chief minister said.