West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a tirade against the BJP-led Union government on Tuesday, saying that if the Centre does not clear the state’s debts, the state may have to stop paying Goods and Services Tax (GST), news agency PTI reported.
She made the statement at a rally in the tribal-dominated Jhargram area, she stated that the Centre must either discharge states’ debts or step down.
Banerjee said that the Centre was failing to release Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) funds and urged tribals to take to the streets to protest.
“Do we have to beg before the Centre to get our financial dues cleared? They are not releasing MNREGA funds. The BJP government has to step down from power if it does not clear our dues,” PTI quoted the chief minister as saying.
According to the data released by the Ministry of Rural Development, the budget allocation for Mahatma Gandhi NREGS has increased from Rs. 73,000 crores at the Budget Estimate stage to Rs. 98,000 crores at the Revised Estimate stage in the fiscal year 2021-22.
In the month of April this year, senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram took a swipe at the Centre over the 78,704 crore it owes the States in GST compensation, saying it would be interesting to know why the Finance Ministry “embarrassed” Prime Minister Narendra Modi by releasing the information on the day he chose to “admonish” the States, The Hindu reported.
In the same month, the Finance Ministry stated that the Centre had already issued eight months of GST compensation owed to the states for the fiscal year ended March 2022, with an additional 78,704 crore outstanding due to insufficient balance in the cess fund.
The Goods And Services Tax (GST) is a single tax on the supply of goods and services from the manufacturer to the customer. Credits for input taxes paid at each stage will be accessible in the next stage of value addition, making GST basically a value-added tax at each stage.
Mamata Banerjee on Monday criticised and apologised today for her minister’s remarks towards President Drupadi Murmu. Making personal remarks is not in her party’s ethos, she says, adding that the MLA has been warned and her party has apologised.
“Beauty is not about how you seem; it is about how you are on the inside,” she stated, news agency PTI reported.
(With Inputs From Agencies)