Despite the Trinamul Con-gress turning the heat on the UPA government, Prime Minister Manmo-han Singh on Friday indicated there were “practical problems” in granting West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s demand for a moratorium on interest payments, debt restructuring (loan repayment over a longer period) and deferring payment on the principal for three years.
He, however, assured a Trinamul delegation that met him Friday that the matter will be looked into. Dr Singh also told the Trinamul MPs they should look at the Centre’s flagship schemes to fast track West Bengal’s development. The MPs, seeking a special package for West Bengal, told the PM: “We (West Bengal government) are running through a dark tunnel. The state’s income is `21,000 crores, while it has to pay `31,000 crores on salaries and `9,000 crores on pensions.”
The PM told the delegation there was no provision under which the state could get special financial relief. He also noted two other states were seeking a similar special package, sources said, while the CM of a southern state had written a letter asking why a special package was being considered for West Bengal.
A Trinamul minister of state at the Centre later said that Tamil Nadu was once given a `4,000-crore package by the Centre when the DMK was in power, and hence “it’s not correct to say there is no system in place to address West Bengal’s demands”.