Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 20 to discuss the matter related to the release of pending central government dues to the state. The meeting will take place in the Prime Minister's chamber in Parliament.
The Bengal CM claimed earlier that the Centre owe over £11.5 billion to the state. Before leaving for Delhi, she targeted the BJP-led central government over the non-payment of funds and said “either release the funds or vacate the office”.
“The central government is not paying our MNREGA dues. Today, there is only one tax, GST. The central government takes all the tax and is not giving our share, which they are taking from here. I am going to Delhi and have sought time from PM Modi. Either release the funds or vacate the office,” she said at a public address.
She also claimed that her government could have included more people under its social welfare schemes had the Centre cleared the state's dues. "... I always keep my promise, unlike the BJP, which had promised to reopen all closed tea gardens... I could have offered social schemes to more people if we had received our dues," the Trinamool Congress supremo said.