Centre right in seeking fund details from Bengal: BJP leader

Kolkata, April 5 (IANS) Accusing the West Bengal government of "misusing" central funds, BJP state unit President Dilip Ghosh on Wednesday said the Centre has every right to ask for details of how such money is utilised in the state.

"It is not the case that the Centre will allot funds and the state government will loot it. If the Centre is providing funds, it also has the right to ask for details of how it is used. But, whenever expense details are asked for, Didi (Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee) gets angry," Ghosh said while rubbishing Banerjee's allegation of non-cooperation from the Centre.

The BJP leader claimed that the huge amounts of central funds surpassed the state government expectations "though they never admit to it".

"The Narendra Modi government is providing more funds than the state expected in every sector. In the last Budget -- even a common man can tell -- allocation for West Bengal is higher than expected. The state's share in central taxes has been increased from 32 to 42 per cent. Where then is the problem in giving expenditure details," Ghosh wondered.

"We will urge the Centre to seek details of every penny of central money spent or stop future fundings if details are not provided," he said.

Talking about ruling Trinamool Congress's extensive protests against the November 8 demonetisation by the Modi government, the BJP leader said the Chief Minister's claims on huge loss to Bengal and the national economy had proved wrong.

"After demonetisation, Banerjee claimed the state's income will go down by 25 per cent and the Gross Domestic Product will fall by two per cent. But in reality, the opposite has happened. The state government has made profit in various sectors, clearly showing that the ruling party is lying to the people," he said.

"People who have focused only on Muslim votes have not been successful in Indian politics. In BJP, we focus on 125 crore people. That is the secret of our success," Ghosh said.