West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee slams Modi for no aid

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee once again targeted the Narendra Modi government at the Centre on Thursday for turning a deaf ear to the state government’s persistent requests for assistance for post-flood repairs and rehabilitation. “A few months ago, Bengal was ravaged by floods. Birbhum district was also affected. We have given compensation to the flood-affected people although we received no help from the Centre. We had requested the Centre to at least waive the loans of farmers. We had sought a relief and rehabilitation package of Rs 6,000 crore. Several months have elapsed but we have not received one paisa,” she claimed. Ms Banerjee was addressing a rally at Birbhum’s Suri.

Although Ms Banerjee had repeatedly referred to the Centre’s allotment of Rs 900 crore for flood-ravaged Tamil Nadu to substantiate her charge that Modi government’s attitude to Bengal was biased and discriminatory during her recent rallies, she didn’t mention it on Thursday. Significantly, Trinamul Congress MPs staged a walkout in the Lok Sabha on Thursday over the Centre’s alleged apathy.

The CM also lambasted the Centre for taking away Rs 28,000 crore every year as repayment of a loan which was taken by the previous Left Front government. “The CPI(M) went on a borrowing spree with the connivance of the then Congress government at the Centre,” she said. Throwing an open challenge to anyone who could run the state government as well as she did despite carrying the staggering baggage of the debt, she said: “If anyone says he can then I will resign.”

The CM inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for a string of development projects and welfare schemes on Thursday. She also distributed scholarships to students and land pattas to farmers. “Birbhum is known all over the world for Santiniketan and the Bauls. Birbhum’s soil makes us proud. I have inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for projects worth Rs 1,000 crore toda,” she said.

Meanwhile, sources said that Ms Banerjee, who will be visiting Delhi soon, is likely to meet Prime Minister Modi and complain about the “witch-hunt” that the CBI has again launched in the name of investigation into the Saradha scam. Ms Banerjee has been invited by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley to attend his daughter’s wedding.