SHILLONG, Jan 18: The NPP reiterated that the promises made by TMC chief Mamata Banerjee during her election meeting in North Garo Hills on Wednesday were mere poll gimmicks, which sound good only on paper and in publicity materials.
“They have termed their baaki (credit) cards – ‘WE Card’ and ‘MYE’ – as revolutionary without realising that such intervention, if could be done, will take any state on a debt trap, which has happened in the case of West Bengal,” the NPP stated.
Terming it as the debt trap of TMC, the NPP said, “The WE Card is actually the rebranded name of the Lakshmir Bhandar Scheme of the West Bengal government. The government of West Bengal has a per capita debt of around Rs 59,000 in 2022-23, and this scheme is one of the reasons for this debt.”
It pointed out that the West Bengal government is paying between Rs 80,000 and Rs 90,000 crore as debt repayment and interest to its borrowers every year. Effectively, every citizen of Bengal has to pay Rs 8,000 as debt every year.
“NPP would like to tell its citizens not to fall victim to such hollow promises being made by TMC. The NPP has embarked on a mission to take the state forward and we would like the citizens of our state not to get carried away by such promises,” the party cautioned.
