Mamata meets Modi, seeks funds for West Bengal

New Delhi, April 10 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here seeking the release of over Rs 10,000 crore due to the state under various centrally-sponsored schemes.

Banerjee, who has long been seeking a loan waiver for West Bengal, during her half an hour meeting with Modi discussed the state's debt situation.

"I have raised the debt issue with the Prime Minister several times earlier. Today again we discussed about the debt situation of the state and release of funds due to the state under various projects and schemes," Banerjee said after her meeting with Modi.

"Around Rs 10,459 crore is pending with the Centre... I apprised the Prime Minister about that and the problems arising out of that. I requested him to ensure that the funds are released. He said he will try to release the funds," she said.

Banerjee, who during her Saturday meeting with visiting Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had reiterated her opposition to the Teesta river water sharing accord, said the agreement was not part of the talks with Modi.

"There were no talks about Teesta with him," she said.

Affirming her continued opposition to the Teesta water sharing pact, Banerjee during her meeting with Hasina had offered Bangladesh electricity and the water of other rivers instead.

In September 2011, Banerjee had embarrassed then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by pulling out of his delegation to Bangladesh over the water sharing agreement, forcing India to drop it from the agenda.

Meanwhile, Hasina, while hoping for a resolution to the long-pending treaty, expressed concern over Banerjee's continued opposition to the agreement.

"I do not know what Didi (Mamata) would do. In my talks with her she gave a new twist, but Modiji has assured that we are here to look after it," Hasina said at an event here.

"We had asked for water but she is giving us electricity. At least we got something," she said in a lighter vein while referring to Banerjee's offer of sharing the water of rivers other than the Teesta.

Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress supremo, expressed concern over tampering with electronic voting machines (EVMs) and advocated the use of ballot papers for the upcoming polls.

"EVMs can be tampered with. Old is gold, so I think we should look towards using ballot papers," Banerjee said on a day when 13 opposition parties met the Election Commission over recent reports of EVM tampering and seeking use of ballot papers in the forthcoming polls.

Post the recent assembly elections to five states, several opposition party leaders including BSP chief Mayawati, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Congress leader Ajay Maken have raised serious concerns over alleged EVM tampering and suggested the use of paper ballots instead of the machines.