Kolkata: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee
on Sunday said he would discuss with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
the plea by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for a financial
package to bail West Bengal out of its economic woes, but
"would not commit" anything right now.
"The chief minister spoke in detail on the state`s
financial situation at the NDC meeting yesterday. And day
before yesterday she had also spoken to the Prime Minister. I
will now speak to the PM and then we will see what can be
done," Mukherjee said.
"And I am not commenting anything right now in this
regard," he said when a reporter asked for his reaction on the
special financial package from the Centre sought by Mamata
earlier.
Yesterday at the NDC meeting, she had asked the Centre
to treat West Bengal "differently" and sought a debt
restructuring plan on the ground that the state had
accumulated a debt burden of almost Rs two lakh crore due to
the Left`s "misrule".
Mamata, whose party Trinamool Congress is a key ally in
the UPA government, met the Prime Minister in Delhi on October
21 and sought the Centre`s help in improving the state`s poor
financial health.
She had said West Bengal should not be compared with
other states as "no development had taken place in the state
because of the misrule for the last 35 years".
Mamata had also sought a moratorium for at least three
years on repayment of loan by the state, keeping in view its
financial condition.
The state government, led by Mamata Banerjee, had
earlier sought a special financial package of Rs 1,900 crores
from the Centre soon after coming to power in the state.
PTI
