Mamata Banerjee to leave for Delhi on March 8 to meet PM Narendra Modi on debt waiver

KOLKATA: Setting aside her differences with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will leave for Delhi on March 8 to meet him seeking a waiver of the huge debt her government is burdened with.

The chief minister today told reporters at the state secretariat that she would lead a 36-38 member delegation, which would comprise, among others, Finance Minister Amit Mitra and Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra.

"We have waited for over three-and-a-half years and had given a test of our patience. Already we paid about Rs 1 lakh crore debt so far. Now we are going to Delhi to secure our rights," she said.

On February 25, Banerjee had written to the Prime Minister seeking an appointment urging him to consider the debt waiver immediately.

"We have long been pursuing with the central government for a waiver of the huge debt burden left upon us by the previous government in West Bengal. We have waited for more than three-and-a-half years with no results," Banerjee said.

She said the deduction of about Rs 28,000 crore every year towards repayment of loans taken by the previous government has been increasing.

"No other state in the country is as 'debt-stressed' as West Bengal because of the gross misrule of the previous Left Front government for 34 long years. Our state needs immediate relief from the debt burden so that growth and development efforts continue unhindered," she said.