KOLKATA

 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday slammed the Centre for slashing interest rates on Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), sarcastically stating that it was “gift card” from the BJP government after the party’s victory in Uttar Pradesh.

Banerjee called for united protests to thwart this “anti-people step, which has been taken at the expense of farmers, workers and the middle class”.

“After the UP victory, the BJP government comes out with its gift card immediately! It, at once, unmasks itself by proposing to slash the interest rate on Employees’ Provident Fund deposits to a four-decade low,” Banerjee tweeted.

On Saturday, the interest rate on employees’ provident fund deposits was cut to a four-decade low of 8.1 per cent for 2021-22 fiscal from 8.5 per cent the previous year.

“This is amidst the pandemic-hit financial stresses of the middle and lower middle-class workers and employees of the country.” Banerjee wrote.

“The anti-people, anti-worker step exposes the crudely lopsided public policies of the current central establishment, which espouses interests of big capital at the expense of farmers, workers, and middle classes. The black initiative must be thwarted by united protests,” she added.