Chandrima hits out at BJP, says ask Centre to release dues worth Rs 90K cr

Kolkata: Coming down heavily on the BJP for causing ruckus in the Assembly, Minister of State (Finance) Chandrima Bhattacharya said while the Centre is not releasing dues to the tune of Rs 90,000 crore that the state gets, the saffron brigade is busy trying to create a constitutional stalemate.

She was reacting sharply after BJP MLAs created pandemonium demanding a statement by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the Bogtui carnage. Manoj Tigga, chief whip of the party along with his colleagues went to the Speaker and demanded her statement. They shouted slogans and left the floor.

Criticising the BJP, Bhattacharya said: "It is a party that does not believe in democracy. They will not take part in debate or discussion and create trouble to stall the proceedings of the House. BJP has lowered the prestige of this House."

Bhattacharya said the state government has so far spent Rs 4,092 crore for Swasthya Sathi project while presenting The West Bengal Appropriation Bill, 2022 in the Assembly on Friday. She said nowhere in the country healthcare is given free of cost in the state-run hospitals. More than 2.3 crore families have already enrolled under the scheme. The state government had signed an MoU with CMC Vellore and till date 7,620 patients with a total claim amounting to Rs 87.35 crore have received treatment at Vellore under the Swasthya Sathi scheme. She said Lakshmir Bhandar has established the rights of women and has no parallel in the country. It is not a dole and the money is given to honour the womenfolk. She further said: "Nobody knows how much money is spent under the PM Cares. If BJP is honest, it should come up with a statement on the expenditure of the fund." Bhattacharya said BJP cannot accept the fact that Bengal is moving forward under the able leadership of Mamata Banerjee. She dreams of making Bengal the best in the global arena.