By IANS,
Kolkata : The Congress Sunday dismissed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s claims of not getting enough financial support from the central government.
The party also asserted that it will continue its “constructive criticism” of the state government, where it is in a coalition with Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, on the issue of farmers’ suicides and crib deaths as the Congress owes good governance to the people of Bengal.
“We are in a coalition both at the centre and at the state level. But the Congress’s role is clear… we will try to go in for better governance. Our criticism can always be constructive. It is intended to improve the quality of administrative decision making and governance,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters here.
“If the party doesn’t criticize the state government on the issues which effect the common man then it would be a betrayal to confidence reposed on us by the people of Bengal,” he said.
“We have criticised it as we wanted to improve the administrative functioning and governance. We will raise our voice against it in the coming days also. Nobody should take it negatively, because it a constructive criticism,” he said.
The relationship between Congress and Trinamool Congress has been through a lot of ups and downs in last few months after state Congress leaders openly criticized the instances of crib deaths in the state and suicides of farmers due to agricultural mismanagement.
The Trinamool, which is the second-largest constituent of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), has also played constant spoiler to various policies of the central government ranging from FDI in retail to Lokayukta clause in Lokpal Bill by citing these policies as “anti-people”.
Singhvi dismissed Banerjee’s repeated claims that the central government for overlooking the interest of the debt ridden Bengal.
“If there is in any specific sector where the chief minister wants to draw attention, the centre is always ready to discuss it. But within these few months the central government has given near about Rs.8,000 crore to this state. It is wrong to say that the state is being ignored,” he said.
Singhvi also counted the claim of Banerjee that Congress is working as the “B-team” of the Marxists.
“We don’t agree with this. We have jointly fought and have come to power in the state and although our numbers are lesser we are in the government. We are not in any matter associated with them in the state or at center. We completely disagree with this,” he said,