Mamata behaving with students in same way Modi treating

The way Narendra Modi governmentis treating protesting farmers outside Delhi, the MamataBanerjee-led West Bengal government is doing the same withstudents and youths in the state, CPI(M) general secretarySitaram Yechury said on Friday, condemning police action onLeft activists in Kolkata.

Addressing a press conference, Yechury said that theCentre should repeal the farm laws and discuss the issues ofagricultural reforms with the stakeholders and then only newlaws be framed.

Condemning the police action on the Left activists onThursday afternoon, he claimed that the 12-hour Bengal bandhcalled by the Left parties in protest was successful with thepeople's support.

''The same tactics that were employed to preventfarmers from reaching Delhi, are being taken by the MamataBanerjee government here,'' he said at the CPI(M) stateheadquarters here.

Claiming that more than 200 farmers have died duringthe protests, he said that the BJP government at the Centre isnot moved by the plight of the nation's food providers.

The CPI(M) leader asserted that West Bengal is headedfor a triangular fight in the upcoming assembly elections withthe Left-Congress electoral alliance being a formidablecontender against the Trinamool Congress and the BJP.

He alleged that religion is being used by the BJP todivert attention from the problems being faced by the peopleof the country.

''In the name of atmanirbhar (self-reliance),atmasamarpan (surrender) of the country's economy is beingdone by the government, benefiting private entities,'' Yechurysaid.

He said that rising prices of petrol and diesel areaffecting the people, claiming that it may soon reach the Rs100-mark.

''Petrol attracts the highest taxes in India across theworld,'' he said.

He said that the tragedy at Tapovan in Uttarakhand isa warning on climate change and that environmental clearancemust be made mandatory for all projects.

''This is becoming a very major crisis and this haspotential to cause havoc and create major tragedies,'' he said,adding that the government must take steps to correct thesituation.