However, within hours of his announcement, Mamata Banerjee, the chief of Mr Trivedi's Trinamul Congress party, rejected the fare increase.

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Mr Omar alleged that his attackers were members of the state's ruling Trinamul Congress Party, which is opposing the strike.

BBC: India man loses ear during strike violence

In May, the Trinamul Congress party led by Mamata Banerjee trounced West Bengal's long-serving communist government on the promise that she would restore the land to the farmers.

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