Kolkata: After lying low for quite some time following her party's poll debacle, maverick Nationalist Trinamool Congress (NTC) chief Mamata Banerjee today re-emerged spearheading an anti-Centre and anti-Left street protest in Kolkata over the recent hike in the prices of petroleum products and the reported starvation deaths in West Bengal.

Participating in a seven-hour sit-in dharna at the busy Esplanade area, she said Left parties had demanded a roll back in the increase in prices of LPG and Coal. "But the Centre has said that fuel price increase was made after consultation with the Left.

"This needs to be clarified to clear the confusion over it," Banerjee said and added that the Left Front's opposition had more to do with its political compulsions.

She said that the fuel price rise would seriously hit the common man and would be a great burden on farmers.

Banerjee announced that today's (June 18, 2004) programme would be followed by a protest march at the Esplanade on June 21.

"This is definitely not reform with a human face by the Government of Manmohan Singh which is being propped up by Left parties," said Nirbed Roy, NTC spokesman.

Roy said to make matters worse, the prices of petrol and the diesel here were higher than the three other metropolis in view of Left Front Government's sale tax and cess.

He said his party also demanded investigation into the deaths of five people allegedly from starvation at Belpahari in West Midnapur district close to Jharkhand.