Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday renewed her demand for the central dues including the ones from Goods and Services Tax and the State’s extraordinary expenses in fighting the corona pandemic.
Speaking during a virtual meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi --- where the former was reviewing the pandemic situation in various states --- Banerjee reportedly reminded the former about the GST dues that the Centre owed to the State Governments.
Besides Banerjee also raised the issue of central help in fighting the corona crisis saying New Delhi had paid only Rs 193 crore to fight the situation compared to Rs 4,000 crore already spent by the State.
The Chief Minister briefed the Prime Minister about the current pandemic situation assuring him that the State had created a robust infrastructure to handle the crisis and it was prepared fight the crisis in case of a surge. Bengal had reported 4,59,918 corona cases with a fatality of about 8,072.
At a different forum addressing a public meeting at Bankura the Chief Minister launched a scathing attack on the Centre holding its “destructive” farm laws responsible for the current rise in prices of onion, potato and other eatables.
Banerjee said that the new farm laws had only encouraged hoarding and black-marketing of potato and onion. “Today potato and onion has gone into the hands of the hoarders and the central law is responsible for this hoarding and resultant price rise,” Banerjee said adding how the “Centre is looting the common people through its laws.”
The Centre in September enacted the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020, which removed cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oil, onions and potatoes from the list.
In Bengal while onion is selling for anywhere between Rs 70 and Rs 80 per kg potato is priced at about Rs 45 a kg which more than double than what these items sold for even a couple of months ago.
“Earlier we used to keep a check on prices of these essential food items but the central Acts have robbed the states of their powers.
This has caused losses to farmers as well as consumers,” Banerjee said adding the State Governments must not be blamed for the rising prices of potato and onion.
Incidentally Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh had accused the TMC Government for the rising prices of eatables saying “it is the cut-money raj that has led to the rising prices as the Trinamool leaders are accumulating funds for fighting the next year’s elections.”