Mamata lashes out at PM for bypassing Principal Secy over data on KMC revenue

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday lambasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his Office wrote a letter to an official of the state government wanting to know the revenue collection statements of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) in November 2016 as against the corresponding period last year.

This is the first time that such a letter has been sent to an Under-Secretary. As per norms, the letter should be sent to the Principal Secretary of Municipal Affairs department.

At a press conference in Nabanna, the Chief Minister said that Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee told her that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had written a letter to an Under-Secretary and asked him to furnish the comparative revenue collection statements of KMC in November 2016 as against the corresponding period last year.

“How can the PMO do this? This is an elected government in Bengal and the PMO should have contacted the minister concerned or the Chief Secretary,” she said, adding that “Modi is running the government like Hitler. He is more than Hitler.”

Banerjee also iterated that in the name of demonetisation the Centre has looted the country. “After looting the farmers and the working class, the Centre is trying to project that its income has gone up. This is the biggest mockery. It is public money and you are looting it.”

She further said: “ Modi is an elected Prime Minister. But he avoids the elected Chief Minister and talks to the Chief Secretary directly through video conference.”

KMC has allowed owners of properties to pay tax through the demonetised Rs 500 notes till December 15.

It may be recalled that some officials of the Income Tax department visited the KMC headquarters on Thursday and asked the Municipal Commissioner to furnish names of property owners who had paid tax in excess of Rs 2.5 lakh using the demonetised high value notes. The KMC gave details of eight of its banks accounts, lying with Bank of Baroda and UCO Bank, to the team.

An official of the IT department said that KMC had received Rs 73 crore between November 10 and 28 and around 80 per cent of the amount was paid in the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. He added that the department was conducting an inquiry into the matter.