KOLKATA: West Bengal's Labour Minister Becharam Manna cycled a distance of 38 km from his home in the Hooghly district to reach the state assembly in protest as the petrol price crossed the Rs 100-mark in Kolkata.
Manna, the TMC MLA from Singur who rose to prominence with the agitation against the Tata Nano factory in late 2000s, was accompanied by a few party workers. He left home at 8 am and reached the assembly building in Kolkata around 12.30 pm to attend the ongoing session.
"Steep rise in fuel prices is the latest failure of the Narendra Modi government. Petrol price crossed the century-mark in Kolkata and we are protesting against this," he told reporters.
The BJP-led government at the Centre is squeezing the common man in every possible way, while the Trinamool Congress government in the state is trying to give succour to the masses by its social welfare projects, he claimed.