Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday slammed the Centre over LPG price increase and accused it of “tormenting the people of India”.

The attack and subsequent Trinamul protests suggested that price rise would be the immediate plank on which the ruling party in Bengal would take on the BJP.

“The Union government must immediately stop tormenting the people of India. By repeatedly increasing fuel prices, LPG prices and prices of essential commodities, @BJP4India is actually conducting a #GreatIndianLoot. People are being fooled,” Mamata tweeted on a day the price of domestic LPG refill went up by Rs 50 in Calcutta.

The plan to build a movement on the price rise was clear later in the day when Trinamul leaders, mostly women, hit the streets. Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya and MP Mala Roy led the protest in Kalighat where hundreds of women joined the march with earthen ovens.

In Birbhum, Trinamul workers agitated in front of LPG outlets as the price of the refill crossed Rs 1,000. In Bankura’s Barjora, ruling party leaders and workers took out a procession with several bullock carts to protest against the rise in fuel prices.

Trinamul workers in districts like Bankura, Birbhum and East Burdwan organised protest programmes to denounce the hike in LPG prices.

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Trinamul Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson, took the protest forward at a news conference on Saturday.

“The rampant hike in LPG prices not only affected our kitchen, but the hike by over Rs 100 for a commercial cylinder has a direct impact on industries. The commercial cylinders are used by the industries and several hotels or restaurants. The traders are also facing the impact of the BJP’s anti-people policy,” said Roy.

He went on to explain how the RBI’s decision to hike the repo rate -- the rate at which the central bank lends money to commercial banks -- would result in a rise in borrowing costs for ordinary people, further inconveniencing them at a time the prices of essential items have steadily moved northwards.

“There may be several political issues that can be used to attack the BJP.… But the price rise is the most important of them all as it affects the ordinary people. We will highlight the plight of people through our movement," said a Trinamul source.

Trinamul insiders said that the party was drawing up plans to make the price rise the most important issue in its fight against the BJP.

Sources said that the timing of the movement assumes significance as the BJP has upped the ante on the state government following the death of party worker Arjun Chowrasia, whose body was found hanging at an abandoned place in north Calcutta on Friday.

Union Home minister Amit Shah on Friday had visited Cossipore and accused Trinamul carrying on with “political murders”.