'Nothing for states' Mamata calls Centre's stimulus 'big zero'
Kolkata: Terming the economic stimulus package announced by the Centre as "a big zero", Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said it was nothing but an "eyewash" and full of "misleading information".
"In the name of lockdown, the Centre is trying economically cripple all the state governments. The announcement made by the Union Finance Minister was full of misleading information. It is nothing but a big zero as the states have got nothing," Banerjee told a press conference at the state Secretariat Nabanna here.
She said that the economic activities and the lives of common people have virtually come to a standstill across India, but there was nothing in the stimulus package.
"Democracy has also come to a halt. The Centre is misleading us with false figures. The recession has already started. And the Central government has not mentioned anything about the special package for Covid crisis, no funds for healthcare sector's revival, job creation, market development, any waiver for the farmers and special grants to the MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) sector," she said.
Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced a slew of measures to help businesses, including the MSMEs. This was a part of the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a day before to spur growth and help build a self-reliant India.
The government on Wednesday announced Rs 6 lakh crore package comprising Rs 3 lakh crore of collateral-free loans for small businesses and a Rs 30,000 crore lifeline to non-bank and housing finance companies.
Also, it cut the tax rate on non-salary payments by 25 per cent, extended support to companies to meet statutory liability on employees' retirement fund, provided a Rs 90,000 crore bailout to cash-starved electricity distribution companies and gave construction firms up to six more months to complete the government projects.
The Rs 20 lakh crore spending, including ones previously announced and the Reserve Bank measures, is seen as the government's attempt to check the world's fifth-largest economy hurtling towards its first full-year contraction in four decades. Sitharaman said automatic collateral-free loans of a four-year tenure with a 12-month moratorium on interest payment, will benefit 45 lakh small businesses.
Another two lakh such businesses would benefit from a Rs 20,000 crore subordinate debt for stressed or loan defaulting MSMEs, she said, adding a fund of funds for MSMEs is also being created, which will infuse Rs 50,000 crore equity in units that have growth potential.
Bengal Finance minister Amit Mitra said that the actual dole is about 2 per cent of the country's GDP.
"People must know the truth and the Centre's actual new announcement is just Rs 4.2 lakh crore or 2 per cent of GDP," Mitra said.
He added: "Out of Rs 20 lakh crore package, Rs 10 lakh crore was announced earlier. It includes Rs 8 lakh crore that has already been given as liquidity and the Union Finance minister has also announced Rs 1.7 lakh crore package earlier. Again, out of the remaining Rs 10 lakh crore, only Rs 4.2 lakh crore can be utilised as the Centre has set it as the limit for taking debt which is only 2 per cent of the GDP."
Taking a cue from Mitra, Banerjee said: "I would like to differ a bit as Mitra didn't deduct Rs 10,000 crore of the Jan Dhan Yojana. If we do so, then we will find that zero per cent of the GDP has been allotted."
Attacking the Centre for trying to "bulldoze" cooperative federalism, Banerjee said: "There was no announcement to waive farmers' loan that was earlier done by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The state's demands to increase FRBM from three to five per cent, direct loan from RBI and other dues were not addressed."
She further maintained: "We had demanded that the Centre should announce 6 per cent of the GDP as a special economic package that is Rs 10 lakh crore. Japan and the US have announced 20 and 10 per cent respectively of their GDP as special packages. But in our country, it is zero."
Banerjee said that, meanwhile, her government has taken up a series of revolutionary steps for reviving the economic conditions of the rural folk.
This comes when 117 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and the disease claimed nine lives in the past 24 hours taking the total death toll to 135.
