|HT|
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence in Delhi on Friday. The Trinamool Congress supremo, who is on a four-day visit to the national capital, was set to discuss issues like GST dues for her state with the PM.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) posted a picture of the two leaders holding talks.
A letter submitted by Banerjee to the PM was later shared with media. "I request for urgent release of funds due to state for implementation of schemes including MGNREGA, PM Awas Yojna and PM Gramin Sadak Yojna... Dues from central govt on these schemes amount to about ₹17,996 crore," read the letter.
"Substantial amount on account of many developments & welfare schemes... estimated to be around ₹1,00,968.44 crore is also due... With such large amount remaining outstanding, state is facing extreme difficulty to run affairs and take care of people of state," it added.
Banerjee is scheduled to meet President Droupadi Murmu later in the day.
Banerjee's visit comes in the midst of a major controversy that has erupted in Bengal following the arrest of her former colleague and cabinet minister Partha Chatterjee in the school jobs scam.
Banerjee will be in town during the election for the Vice President's post for which the BJP-led NDA has fielded former Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, who had multiple run-ins with the TMC governor during his tenure in the Raj Bhavan. The election will be held on August 6. While the Opposition has fielded Margaret Alva for the post, the Trinamool Congress has decided to abstain from the election.
The Bengal CM, who had skipped a meeting of the Niti Aayog governing council last year, will attend the same this time on August 7. Modi will chair the meeting.
A day ago, the Trinamool Congress supremo met her party's MPs and discussed with them the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament and the road to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)