Mamata calls Centre’s stimulus ‘big zero’

KOLKATA: Terming the economic stimulus package announced by the Centre as “a big zero”, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said it was nothing but an “eyewash” and full of “misleading information”.

“In the name of lockdown, the Centre is trying economically cripple all the state governments. The announcement made by the Union Finance Minister was full of misleading information. It is nothing but a big zero as the states have got nothing,” Banerjee told a press conference at the state Secretariat Nabanna here.

She said that the economic activities and the lives of common people have virtually come to a standstill across India, but there was nothing in the stimulus package.

“Democracy has also come to a halt. The Centre is misleading us with false figures. The recession has already started. And the Central government has not mentioned anything about the special package for Covid crisis, no funds for healthcare sector’s revival, job creation, market development, any waiver for the farmers and special grants to the MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) sector,” she said.

Bengal Finance minister Amit Mitra said that the actual dole is about 2 per cent of the country’s GDP. “People must know the truth and the Centre’s actual new announcement is just Rs 4.2

lakh crore or 2 per cent of GDP,” Mitra said.

He added: “Out of Rs 20

lakh crore package, Rs 10 lakh crore was announced earlier. It includes Rs 8 lakh crore that has already been given as liquidity and the Union Finance minister has also announced Rs 1.7 lakh crore package earlier. Again, out of the remaining Rs 10 lakh crore, only Rs 4.2 lakh crore can be utilised as the Centre has set it as the limit for taking debt which is only 2 per cent of the GDP.”