Kolkata, Nov 1 (IANS) Protesting against the “abnormal” price rise of essentials, the West BengaL unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday convened a 12-hour shutdown across the state Nov 30.

“We have started a month-long statewide agitation Sunday against the rising prices which have hit the common people hard. The shutdown will be the climax of our agitation,” new BJP state president Rahul Sinha told IANS.

Sinha said the BJP will make written appeals to all political parties, except the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), to support the Nov 30 shutdown.

“We won’t go to the CPI-M as we believe they are responsible for the price escalation in the state, having been in power for the last 32 years at the head of the Left Front government,” he said.

Sinha claimed that the BJP was the only opposition party now. “The Congress and the Trinamool Congress are sharing power at the centre. The CPI-M and other left parties are ruling the state for long. That leaves only us,” he said.