"Political statements not based on facts": TMC's Saugata Roy hits back at Nirmala Sitharaman

New Delhi [India], February 12 (ANI): Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy on Wednesday slammed Nirmala Sitharaman over her remarks in the Parliament against the West Bengal government, and said the Finance Minister was making political statements that were not based on facts.
Speaking to ANI, Roy affirmed that West Bengal is on the right path while the Centre is "depriving" the state of its dues.
"The Finance Minister was making apolitical statements which were not based on facts. We wanted proof when she said that there is a lot of corruption in MNREGA. She did not provide any proof. It was only her opinion she expressed. We want to firmly say that West Bengal is on the right path. The Centre is depriving it of its dues," he said.
Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday accused the Trinamool Congress of weakening government institutions and indulging in "systematic corruption."
Earlier, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee criticized Sitharaman's reply to the Union Budget debate in the Lok Sabha and said it was "politically motivated, biased, and unsatisfactory".
"When have you released funds to the states? You have not given the data. Which state is not in a position to spend?" he asked.
In her reply to the marathon debate, Sitharaman countered opposition allegations and said capital budget outlays have not come down. She said that the government is using almost all the borrowed resources for financing effective capital expenditure.
The minister said that effective capital expenditure is projected at 15.48 lakh crore as against 13.18 lakh crore in the revised estimates of 2024-25. She said the effective capital expenditure for 2025-26 is 4.3 per cent of GDP as compared to fiscal deficit target of 4.4 per cent.
Capital expenditure, or capex, is used to set up long-term physical or fixed assets.
"Effective capital expenditure includes core capital outlays and the grants in aid to states for creation of capital assets. Though the grants in aid for creation of capital assets is accounted in Budget as revenue expenditure, they go for creating capital assets in the states," she said. (ANI)