Kolkata:
Mamata Banerjeee has given a 15 day deadline to the Centre on her demand for a 3 year moratorium on paying interest on huge loans taken during the tenure of the previous Left governments in the state. This may not be a new demand but the chief minister today, conveyed her growing impatience with the Centre for its failure to bail her out of the state's financial mess.
Ms Banerjee pointed out that she wanted a legally authorized waiver of interest for three years for the repayment of the debt which the state had inherited - a debt burden of over Rs 22,000 crore loans taken by the previous Left Front regime.
"It will have to be done. We are unable to pay. I have waited for one year and I will wait for another 15 days and then....," the chief minister told a convention of West Bengal Civil Sevices (WBCS) officers, but did not elaborate on her next course of action.
"I have met the honorable Prime Minister many times, it's not like I have not. I have met the Finance Minister not once, but fifty times," she said, adding, "I have made repeated appeals, my patience is running out".
And the warning is clear; if the government doesn't respond she will make it a big issue.
"How can Bengal survive if the income is Rs 21,000 crore and interest payout is Rs 22,000 crore", Banerjee asked.
The Congress tried to downplay this new ultimatum. "When aspirations are articulated, by state governments they should not be seen from terminology of threat. It's not illegitimate for elected representaives to voice their concern about their states," he said.
What will Ms Banerjee's next step be, and how far is she willing to implement her threat are questions only she will be able to answer.