Tripura Left Front not to join all-India strike July 5

AGARTALA - Tripura’s ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-led Left Front will not join a nationwide shutdown July 5 as it has already protested against the fuel price hike through a 12-hour strike June 28, a front statement said Wednesday.

However, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would observe a shutdown in Tripura July 5 as part of its all-India programme.

A countrywide shutdown has been called July 5 by several parties — including the Communist Party of India-Marxist, the Communist Party of India, the Revolutionary Socialist Party and the Forward Bloc — against the rising prices of essentials and the central government’s recent decision to hike fuel prices.

“We have observed a dawn-to-dusk shutdown Monday in Tripura on the price rise issue. Considering the people’s misery, we would not observe the strike again on the same issue almost within a week,” the Left Front statement said.

However, the statement said that the ruling Left parties would organise mass demonstration across Tripura July 5 to protest against the rising prices of essential commodities and the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government’s recent decision to hike the fuel prices.

BJP’s state president Manoj Kanti Debroy told IANS: “The BJP would organise the 12-hour strike in Tripura on July 5 to denounce the price rise of essentials and fuels.”

The central government Friday ended government curbs on petroleum pricing and hiked the prices of diesel, kerosene and cooking gas. The price of diesel went up by Rs.2 a litre, kerosene by Rs.3 a litre, cooking gas by Rs.35 per cylinder and petrol by Rs.3.50 a litre.