New Delhi:
West Bengal's finance minister Amit Mitra on Wednesday blamed the Centre for allowing the previous Left government to borrow without control, which put the state's finances in huge debt. He was asked to explain why West Bengal can't cut taxes to reduce the cost of diesel and raise the cap on subsidised LPG cylinders.
The government at the Centre allowed the Left to borrow and now the Trinamool Congress government is being asked to service an interest of Rs 25,000 crore on the borrowing, he said. "So how can the Centre now ask us to cut taxes?"
It was suggested by several Congress leaders that Mamata Banerjee cut taxes and subsidise LPG cylinders if she is unhappy with the central government's reform moves.
The Trinamool Congress has pulled out of the UPA government over the increase of diesel price, capping of subsidised gas cylinders to households and introduction of Foreign Direct Investment or FDI in retail.