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Mamata meets PM Modi in Delhi, asks Centre to write off West Bengal's debt

Coming out of the meeting, Ms Banerjee said she discussed with the Prime Minister changing the name of West Bengal to 'Bangla'.

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West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee calls on PM Modi
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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi, even as a bitter battle of dominance continues between the TMC and the BJP in the state. 

Coming out of the meeting, Ms Banerjee said she discussed with the Prime Minister changing the name of  West Bengal to 'Bangla' and asked him to write off the state's debt. 

The West Bengal government had earlier asked for a fiscal package from the central government four times but has not been granted so.

Earlier before the meeting, sources in the state government said West Bengal is about to face increased financial pressure of an additional Rs 10,000 crores next year since Banerjee has recently announced a salary hike for state government employees, following the Sixth Pay Commission's recommendations.

The Chief Minister said after the meeting that she gave a paper to the Prime Minister on what her government has done in recent years. 

"The meeting with the Prime Minister was good. We discussed changing the name of West Bengal to 'Bangla'. He has promised to do something about the matter," she said. 

Last year, the West Bengal Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution to change the name of the state to 'Bangla' in the three most-spoken languages -- Bengali, Hindi and English -- and had sent the proposal to the Home Ministry. Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Nityanand Rai in July told the Rajya Sabha there is no proposal to make amendments in the Constitution to change the name.

Soon after, Banerjee wrote a letter to Modi, asking him to get the required constitutional amendment done during the monsoon session of Parliament itself. 

She again reiterated the demand in the meeting with Modi on Wednesday. 

She also invited Modi to attend a programme for Deocha Pachami, world's second-largest coal block Deocha Pachami, in Birbhum district after Navratri puja.

The Centre has entered into an allotment agreement with West Bengal Power Development Corporation (WBPDCL) for the coal block, with an estimated reserve of 2.1 billion tonnes. 

"I have requested the Prime Minister to attend the programme for world's second-largest coal block Deocha Pachami in Birbhum district after Navratri puja. The project is worth Rs 12,000 crores," Mamata said. 

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