'Centre only sent Rs 1.13 lakh cr': Bengal FM disputes Amit Shah's 'Rs 3.59 lakh cr' claim

West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra on Sunday accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of giving incorrect information about the funds provided by the Centre to the state. 

The WB FM said, "He has given wrong, misleading, and politically-motivated information. The Centre, as a part of the federal structure, collects taxes from states and shares. We had received only ₹ 1.13 lakh crore in the last 6 years."

Mitra also said that the West Bengal government had spent ₹ 3.1 lakh crore in six years in various development projects, completely sponsored by the state, except expenditures like salary, pension, and other administrative expenses.

'PM Modi sent ₹ 3.59 lakh crore for Bengal,' says Shah

In his recent visit to West Bengal, Home Minister Shah had said in his speech, "During the Congress regime, the Centre had sent ₹1.32 lakh crore to West Bengal. In 5 years, PM Modi had sent ₹ 3.59 lakh crore for Bengal's development. Where did all this money go? It has all been siphoned off by bhaipo (nephew) and the TMC goons, and not a single penny reached the people of Bengal. When the BJP government comes to power, a high-level probe would be done against all those who had taken the money and legal actions would be taken against all accused.”

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West Bengal Assembly Election 

The West Bengal Assembly with 294 seats will go to polls in April-May 2021, Trinamool holds 222 seats at present. However, BJP has made major inroads in the state in the Lok Sabha elections winning 18 seats out of 42 and establishing itself as the major opposition force in the state. Recently, TMC trumped BJP in all 3 polls, but the BJP is using its booth-level strategy and has regularly dispatched its top leaders including Amit Shah and JP Nadda in the state for winning the upcoming elections. In the latest development, the CBI has summoned Abhishek Banerjee's wife in a coal smuggling case it has been investigating.

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(With Agency Inputs)