Taking aim at the Centre for its bid to privatise LIC, Mr Mitra said that an effort was being made to sell stakes in LIC.
(Image: Facebook/@DrAmitMitra)
State finance minister Amit Mitra while speaking on the West Bengal Finance Bill 2020 in the assembly today launched a stinging attack on the Centre for its bid to “privatise LIC and devolution”, which the state finance minister said was nothing but a “conspiracy” against the states. Taking aim at the Centre for its bid to privatise LIC, Mr Mitra said that an effort was being made to sell stakes in LIC.
Elaborating further, the state finance minister said, “In March 2015 non- performing assets of the LIC or the riskbased loans stood at Rs 12, 213 cr, in September 2019 it grew to Rs 30,000 cr. It’s a quantum jump; thus, the company is being ruined. Moreover, to top it all, the greatest danger lurks in the way the money from LIC is being forcefully channelised for divestment of public sector undertakings such as BHEL Rs 2,085 cr, coal India Rs 7,000 cr. Their shares were being bought by diverting LIC money thus clearing the decks for the privatisation of LIC.”
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Sharpening his attack, Mr Mitra said, “Not only the divestment bid, but there is also an effort to systematically dismantle the federal structure by slashing the revenue sharing mechanism so that states suffer. “The state should have been provided with 44 per cent of the share of direct income tax that the Centre receives from it. But it disbursed 42 per cent of the total share. Having said that out of 42 per cent one percent had been made for Kashmir. So, the state gets 41 per cent.
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The centre should have provided us 42 per cent. But in reality it gives 41 per cent. Moreover, cess and surcharge are being increased. It was 18 per cent in 2018. No money will be given to us from cess and surcharge. This will not come to us . To decrease the growth, the centre is increasing cess and surcharge, but states are being deprived of their share. Moreover, no GST compensation is being given to us,” Mr Mitra said.
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