Maharashtra CM Thackeray writes to FM Nirmala Sitharaman; makes 'expeditious' request

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman requesting her to release the pending dues of the state to the tune of Rs.15,558.05 crore. He claimed that Maharashtra had received less than the budgetary amount mandated as tax devolution. Moreover, Thackeray observed that an amount of Rs. 8611.76 crore was due as GST compensation. Hinting at the financial stress on the State coffers, the Maharashtra CM asked her to expedite the transfer of the state’s legitimate share of funds which would help to sustain the developmental programmes of the state.  

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Protest in Parliament

Earlier, in the day, several parties such as the Shiv Sena, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) raised their pitch in the Parliament demanding the Centre to release the GST dues to their respective states. As soon as the Question Hour commenced, these parties disrupted the proceedings by sloganeering. In fact, the Rajya Sabha had to be adjourned for an hour over the delay in the release of GST payments to the states. Previously, representatives of the various states held a meeting with Sitharaman pertaining to this issue. After the introduction of GST, the Centre had assured the states of compensating them for the revenue shortfall for the first 5 years.  

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Sena's conflicting stance on CAB

Meanwhile, the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has hinted at taking a divergent position on the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha. As its MPs voted for the legislation in the Lower House, the Congress top brass reportedly got upset with this move. Thereafter, both the Maharashtra CM as well as party MP Sanjay Raut stated that the Sena would not support the Bill in the Upper House until all its concerns were addressed. Currently, Shiv Sena is a constituent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra. 

Read: Telangana CM KCR Urges FM Sitharaman To Release Rs 4,531 Cr GST Dues

(With PTI inputs)