The West Bengal Chief Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, hardened her stand on a three-year moratorium for interest payment on accumulated debts.
According to her, the Centre cannot deny the moratorium and it was a part of its “commitment”.
“We are not going with a begging bowl nor are we asking for any special package. This is the Centre's commitment and we deserve it,” Ms Banerjee told reporters at Writers' Buildings here before leaving for Delhi, where she will be attending a chief ministers' meeting on National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) on May 5.
Ms Banerjee had recently said that the debt burden bequeathed by the Left Front government in the state is likely to be more than Rs. 2.3 lakh crore. The state government's current annual outgo on interest payments is around Rs 22,000 crore. She had further pointed out that West Bengal has been identified by the 13th Finance Commission along with Kerala and Punjab as the “debt-stressed states”.
She further added that Punjab had received a similar moratorium between 2000 and 2006 following recommendations of the Finance Commission and that there was no reason that Bengal be denied such a moratorium.
“It happened with Punjab. Is not Bengal a state? Is not Bengal's problem everyone's problem”, she said.
According to her, repeated pleas to the Centre for bailing out the state from the financial mess that she claimed has been created by the previous Left Front government.
Presidential Candidate
Asked on her choice of candidate for the Presidential polls, she said that her party was yet to decide over its choice of candidate.
The Trinamool Congress with 19 MPs in the Lok Sabha is the second largest party in the UPA-II at the Centre.
“I have not spoken to anyone (over the choice of candidates). When I am in Delhi, I meet everyone,” Ms Banerjee said.
New Reservation
Ms Banerjee added that the West Bengal government has decided to add 35 new categories in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) list. A decision in this regard has been cleared by the State Cabinet.
“A Bill giving effect to the new reservations will be brought in the next session of the State Assembly,” she said.