West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said the State has agreed to the Centre’s proposal to extend the lockdown till April 30 but also suggested that the Centre should come up with a ₹10-lakh crore economic and health package for the States to bail them out of the crisis
“The Prime Minister himself suggested that the lockdown be extended till April 30 in today’s meeting. We had earlier said whatever the Centre decides in this situation we will not differ with it. We have to stay united in this fight for the country,” she told journalists here. Earlier in the day, Ms. Banerjee participated in the video conference the Prime Minister had convened. She also announced that the schools would remain closed till June 10.
Referring to how much the European countries are spending as a percentage of the their GDP to combat the crisis, Ms. Banerjee said she highlighted that India should spend at least 6% of its GDP to come out of the crisis. “During the meeting I raised the demand for ₹10 lakh crore economic and health package for all States. We spoke about everyone.” Earlier she said she had written to the Centre demanding ₹25,000 crore to fight the pandemic. “Let us fight this disease not hunger,” she said.
The Chief Minister said she also raised the issue that if companies can donate to PMCARES fund as part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) why cannot they donate to the State’s relief fund under this head. The West Bengal government has constituted a State Emergency Relief Fund to fight the situation. Ms. Banerjee said not allowing companies to contribute to the State’s Relief Fund is against the federal structure. She said she had also raised the issue of sealing of international borders. “We share three international borders. I urged the Centre to take special care of the borders so that the disease does not spread through them,” she said.
