State funding schemes, Centre taking credit: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday directed officials to rename central schemes, claiming the state was bearing 80 per cent cost of these programmes "but the Union government was taking credit for them".

She said the state government was willing to fund these schemes entirely.

"I have seen that though the state is spending 80 per cent to run these schemes, the centre is taking the entire credit. Why will this happen? Change the old name. Rename Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana to Bangla Sadak Yojana, so that people know the reality. In such cases, we will take responsibility of running the entire scheme. Please see that the names are changed," she said.

The chief minister was speaking at an administrative review meeting here in South 24 Parganas district.

She also alleged the centre was taking credit for paying the farmers under the Fasal Bima Yojana, though the state government was making the payments.

"We are paying them, but the BJP is claiming that they are paying the farmers. They cannot do this politics," she said.

Banerjee on Tuesday had accused the Centre of making false claims in providing crop insurance to farmers in the state, and said the state has made 80 per cent of the insurance payout.

Banerjee has been a strident critic of the BJP government and among the foremost opposition leaders against it.