KOLKATA/RANCHI/BENGALURU: Several opposition-ruled states have launched a scathing attack on the Center over the hike in LPG cylinder prices, with Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asking women across the state to stage protests and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah calling on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resign.In poll-bound Bengal, Mamata focused on her party’s female vote bank, intertwining the issue of rising kitchen costs with the issue of removing SIR. She urged women across the state to organize rallies wearing black outfits and carrying utensils to mark Women’s Day to protest against the hike in LPG cylinder prices and the mass deletion of women’s names from the electoral rolls. “Gas prices have increased again, and you cannot order gas before the 21st. So if your home runs out of gas, what will you do on the 21st?” she said at a rally. Siddaramaiah said the rate hike was the result of the Modi government’s “flawed foreign policy.” He said this would put further pressure on millions of households at a time when they are battling relentless inflation. He accused the prime minister of giving up India’s strategic autonomy by “blindly aligning himself with the United States” and undermining long-term energy ties with Russia and Iran. In Jharkhand, JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said, “Had India maintained its earlier ties with Russia, the country would not have faced such a situation.”
