West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee addressing a public event in Purba Bardhaman, makes a statement comparing the contributions of Bengalis to global institutions like Harvard, Oxford, Columbia, and San Francisco, with the alleged displacement of Gujaratis by former US President Donald Trump.
“Trump chased away Gujaratis, but places like Harvard, Oxford, Columbia, San Francisco can't run without Bengalis”, said chief minister Banerjee.
Speaking at a government programme in Bardhaman town in Purba Bardhaman district, which was organised to distribute social welfare schemes' benefits among the people, Banerjee said, “We will rise in protest if there are attempts to muzzle our voices. We will chant both Joy Hind and Joy Bangla as Bengali is in our veins, in our blood. Bengali occupies the top berth among the spoken languages in the world. Any insult to our mother will not be tolerated."
Claiming that 22 lakh migrant labourers currently work outside the state because they were invited by their employers for their skills, the CM said, "They are now being assaulted in BJP-ruled states for speaking in Bengali.” "But 1.5 crore migrants from outside Bengal are working here. And we ensure their safety, security," the chief minister added.
"The Prime Minister should respect my chair as I respect his. I never expected him to call the people of West Bengal 'thieves'," the CM said.
"In truth, he has turned a blind eye to the performances of the so-called 'double-engine' BJP governments of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar, where corruption is at its highest," Banerjee claimed.
Alleging that Modi travels to West Bengal "like a migratory bird every time there is an election knocking on doors", Banerjee claimed that the state administration has satisfactorily replied to all queries of the Union government about utilisation of central funds for welfare schemes.
"We have answered all your queries, yet you stop fund disbursement and call West Bengal 'thief'. They had sent 186 central teams to West Bengal to probe corruption charges and found nothing. How can a student accept getting zero marks after answering all questions? We will not tolerate this insult," she added.
In a major GST rate rationalisation move, a proposal to exempt health insurance and a bulk of goods from GST is expected to come up when the GST Council meets early next month.
Banerjee said it was West Bengal that first pushed for a GST exemption on health insurance to make medical cover more affordable for the common people.
"The waiver of GST on health insurance premiums will cost Bengal Rs 900 crore. But we had to think of the people first. We have advocated for this reform so that more citizens can access health insurance," she said at a government programme in Bardhaman town.
The current GST on health insurance is 18 per cent and share of state revenue is 9 per cent.
Banerjee said her government is trying to expand the Swasthya Sathi scheme, which provides free health coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh to residents of West Bengal.
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