Centre does not aid Bengal like other states : Mamata

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday accused the Narendra Modi-led Central government of not aiding her state the way it aids the others as her government opposes its policies.

"The Central government does not provide necessary monitory support to Bengal, rather they take the money away. We are still paying Rs 40,000 crore every year as part of the state's debt to the Centre acquired during the Left Front regime," she said in a public meeting in Bardhaman district's Kanksa.

"The crops were wasted in parts of the country due to the untimely rain and flood. The Centre has aided Assam and Bihar but haven't sent any aid to Bengal. The Centre thinks they would hit us economically as our government oppose their policies," she alleged.

The Trinamool Congress supremo also accused the Centre's ruling BJP of talking in the language of communalism in Bengal but asserted that her government would not be provoked to reply in the same language.

"BJP is using the language of communalism. We would not reply to them in that language. We have many other languages to communicate. We prefer to talk in those languages. Our government is for mother, land and people. It is not for someone specific. It is everyone," she said.

Referring to the the brutall killing of an Bengali labourer in Rajasthan, Banerjee said there are repeated incidents of violence and hate crimes against the minority and dalits in the BJP governed states.

"What are they (BJP) up to? A Dalit family in Gujrat went to watch a cultural programme, they were lynched. A person in Rajasthan protested against the banning of the film 'Padmavati', he was hanged till death, another person came to work in Rajasthan was burnt alive. Why would these things happen?" she asked.

Taking a swipe at the BJP leaders in Bengal, Banerjee said: "People of Bengal should politically drive them away so that they can never come back."