After Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee it is the turn of her senior most Cabinet colleague Minister Subrata Mukherjee to fire salvos at the Centre complaining against its alleged “discriminatory treatment” which he said was “hampering the social welfare schemes in Bengal.”
The Minister blamed the Centre for a sharp decline in the implementation of schemes related to rural health, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, JNURM, BRGF, MNREGA etc.
“Though our performance has been exceptional we are not getting funds for JNURM, rural health, Sarva Ahiksha BRGF, special BRGF schemes. They have been stopped by the Centre,” Mukherjee alleged, adding the “funds for 100-days’ work have been stopped triggering unemployment among the poorest people.”
This was all being done for political reasons he said repeating the Chief Minister’s oft-repeated allegations that the Centre was “discriminating among various States.”
lambasting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “going back on his words” she had told a public meeting late last month that “I had a talk with the Prime Minister who assured all help. He promised me to clear funds in various schemes but subsequently he went back on his promises as no fund came from Delhi.”
Banerjee had for long been complaining against the Centre’s refusal to grant three-year-moratorium in repayment of debts. “Why shall we have to repay the loan taken by the left Front GovernmentIJ Why shall we be held accountable for the fault that is not oursIJ” she told the rally saying the “Centre is taking away Rs40,000 crore as interest on the loan that had been taken by the earlier Governments over the past three decades.
“It is due to the Centre’s discriminatory tactic that we are facing great financial hardship in implementing programmes,” Mukherjee said on Wednesday.
The Minister however informed that it was on account of the State’s good performance that it had won a Rs4,000 crore foreign grant beating China which was also vying for the money. “This fund will come as a great help and will be used for the development of 3,500 panchayats in the State,” he maintained.