Dismissing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's claims that “the Centre has not given us anything,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said here on Sunday that the Centre had already allotted Rs. 7,800 crore to West Bengal since the new government took over. “In such a short span of time, Rs. 7,800 crore has been allocated to the State. If there are any shortfalls, those can certainly be discussed. But it would be wrong to say that the Centre is not extending support or paying attention or allocating resources,” Mr. Singhvi told journalists when asked to comment on Ms. Banerjee's refrain that the Centre has not offered any special assistance to the State.
Recently Ms. Banerjee had reiterated that despite assurances from the senior leadership of the Congress, funds had not been forthcoming.
“The Centre has not given us anything. Before the election, the Prime Minister had said that the State will get help. I have held five meetings with Pranab Mukherjee... Nothing has happened,” she had said.
Responding to the charge, Dr. Singhvi said that if there was any specific sector or issue towards which the Chief Minister wanted to draw the Centre's attention, then it would certainly be done.
Asked about the former ISRO chief, Madhavan Nair's claims that the report on the Antrix-Devas deal was unfair, Mr. Singhvi said that while he had the right to criticise the report, it has been prepared by a high-power committee.
“This is an issue between the government and Mr. Nair... It is not as if there has been a knee-jerk reaction by the government. It had set up a very high-power committee that has given its report which is out in the public domain,” he said.
He condemned “the abhorrent” act as shown in a video of Jarawa tribals coaxed into dancing before tourists allegedly by a policeman and assured stringent action after an inquiry.
