Trinamool to raise LIC, SBI and LPG price hike issues in Parliament

Kolkata, March 9

Trinamool Congress is all set to corner the Centre in the upcoming Parliament session on several issues, including investments by SBI and LIC in private entities besides the recent hike in the cooking gas price.

According to sources, the decision was taken at a closed-door meeting here on Wednesday evening. Chaired by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the meeting saw participation of party's national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee and the party leaders in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha -- Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Derek O'Brien.

Although there was no official briefing on the proceedings of the meeting, one of the party Lok Sabha members said on condition of anonymity that the chief minister directed the party leaders in both houses to brief the respective MPs to debate on investments made by LIC and SBI in private entities.

"The second major issue that we have been asked to focus on during the three-day Parliament session that gets underway on March 13, is how the Union government arbitrarily resorted to hike in the price of the cooking gas immediately after the polls for the three northeastern states of Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland," the Lok Sabha member added.

If time and situation permit, he added, the party MPs have also been asked to be vocal on other issues like denial of central dues to the state government and purported actions of the Union government that are contrary to the federal democratic system of the country. "The Women's Reservation Bill is yet another issue that we have been asked to raise," the party MP said.

However, Chief Minister Banerjee has given strict instructions to the party MPs not to voluntarily raise the issue of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) taking Anubrata Mondol to New Delhi in connection to the cattle-smuggling scam.

Sources said that the party leadership has for the time being decided to take a low- key approach in the matter, at least in public domain.