Mamata runs government the way she 'mishandled' railways: CPI(M)

The CPI(M) on Friday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was trying to run the government in the "same manner she mishandled" the Railway Ministry.

"It is quite evident from her running the state that everything is in a mess because she is following the same methods she used to mishandle the Railway ministry," senior CPI(M) leader Suryakanta Mishra, Leader of the Opposition, said.

"The wastage of funds during her tenure as Railway minister is well known and she had to borrow central funds to meet the deficit," he claimed.

"Now the chief minister is crying hoarse about empty coffers and blaming the previous Left Front government for the funds crunch," he said.

Referring to Banerjee's statement that that she met Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee six to eight times and requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for a financial package, he said, "When she exhausted the funds for the Railways as minister she moved the Planning Commission and the Finance Ministry in the same way."

He questioned why the state government was delaying in placing a full-fledged budget and remained content with only a vote-on-account.

"We understand that the government is only two months old but we expect that it will place a full-fledged budget when the assembly meets on August 10."