Smriti Irani Rides A Scooter In Bengal, Day After Mamata Banerjee
Smriti Irani was seen riding a scooter in Baruipur-Sonarpur area on the outskirts of Kolkata.
Kolkata:
Union Minister Smriti Irani was seen negotiating the narrow lanes of suburban Kolkata on a scooter as part of a BJP motorcycle rally on Friday, just a day after Trinamool Congress boss and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was seen riding pillion to work.
On a day the Election Commission is expected to announce dates for the Bengal elections, due in April-May, along with other states across the country, the BJP’s big guns Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani are campaigning on Mamata Banerjee’s turf.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be in Balurghat along with state BJP president Dilip Ghosh while Ms Irani, the union minister for textiles, took part in the bike rally in Baruipur-Sonarpur area in the South 24 Parganas district, a Trinamool Congress stronghold.
Smriti Irani led a BJP bike rally on souther fringe of Kolkata.
A day ago, Mamata Banerjee had arrived at work on an electric scooter. Known for her modest “Santro” image, the West Bengal Chief Minister took things a notch up – or, perhaps, down – to drive home the point on spiralling fuel prices.
In the run-up to the state assembly polls, her ride was an indication that the Trinamool Congress head wasn’t going to let go of any opportunity to attack the BJP which has relentlessly badgered her government over the past many months.
Ms Banerjee’s Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Hakim rode the battery-powered scooter with her riding pillion. A considerable stretch of the five-kilometre trip from Kolkata’s Hazra More locality to the state secretariat in Nabanna passed over the Second Hooghly river bridge or Vidyasagar Setu. The entire ride was telecast through Facebook Live. Later the Chief Minister addressed the media, seated on the e-scooter or battery-operated scooter.
“Kerosene is not available. One crore people in Bengal use it. Petrol-diesel (prices are) up. Gas up…even last night. That’s why I decided to take the scooter to work,” she said.
Fuel prices have increased considerably across the country over the past many weeks. In Kolkata, for instance, petrol costs Rs 91.12 and a cylinder of cooking gas comes at a reported Rs 820.25, rising by Rs 100 this month.