Amit Mitra walks out of Pre-budget meeting, says there is “political environment of fear” post demonetisation:

West Bengal’s Finance Minister, Amit Mitra walked out of a pre-budget meeting called by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, saying that there was a “political environment of fear” after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced demonetisation.

“I wanted the finance minister to hear the reality — the financial emergency in the country, the political environment of fear all around,” Mitra said after walking out from the meeting. He also stressed on the fact that there has been a huge job losses since November 8, 2016 and that the leather industry of West Bengal is collapsing. “The country’s growth is being sacrificed,” he said.

He also said that the data Jaitley provided to the media on taxes that had been received were only up to November 8, and nothing after that. “States ruled by BJP said we are not getting Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) money. West Bengal is due to get Rs 6,000 crore in terms of central funds which we have not got and, on top of that, our taxes have declined,” he said.

Mitra’s protest came shortly after the arrest of Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Tapas Paul in connection to the Rose Valley Chit scam.