February 12, 2014
WB CM criticises the Central Govt for not keeping their promise of debt restructuring
West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee came down heavily on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while addressing the press at Uttar Kanya, the state`s branch secretariat in North Bengal. The Chief Minister pointed out that the PM had not acted on his assurance to provide generous financial assistance to the state.
“When the PM came to Dumdum he had assured that he would help the state to restructure Bengal financially. But almost three years on, nothing has been done,” Ms. Banerjee said. She added that the Centre, however, “is taking away a large share of our revenue, plunging us more in financial hardships.”
“The erstwhile Left Front government kept on borrowing from the markets for years in connivance with the Centre, taking the loan burden to almost astronomical proportions. We are paying these loans back and in the process, our resources are being drained out. The situation is so grim that it is proving difficult for us to pay the government employees, school teachers and the like their salaries,” the Chief Minister added.
“Had the state executed the FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) system we would not have faced such a problem presently,” she said. She pointed out the deprivation of Bengal by the Centre and she said the previous government in the state as well as the Centre had conspired to reduce the state to a pauper.
