Kolkata : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday accused the Centre of discriminating against the state governments by allowing its various sectors to accept demonetised high-denomination currency notes but not allowing states to do this.
“The central government is allowing its various sectors — petroleum, aviation, banking, railways — to take demonetised notes. But you (Centre) are not allowing the state governments to do likewise. As a result agriculture, cooperative banks and the rural sector etc are suffering,” Banerjee said.
“I have no problem with the four-five central sectors which have got this facility. But you should ask the state governments too. The Centre should also allow the states to grow,” she told a media meet here.
“This is discrimination. You are collecting your own funds through new and old notes. But in my state it is now getting difficult to give agricultural loans also because of the cash crisis… There is no harvesting, as farmers can’t pay the labourers,” she said.
Banerjee said that in the mangrove land of Sundarbans, fishermen don’t have the means to buy their daily needs. “They are unable to eat properly. They are catching fish, roasting it and having it.”