New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) The public spat between the Congress and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi intensified Monday with the ruling party accusing the latter of “lying to the nation and the state” over the central assistances and the tax revenue collected in the state. Citing official data, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said Gujarat has contributed Rs. 6,187 crore as direct tax of which Rs. 3,372 crore have been returned to the state in the 2005-06 fiscal as grants.

“In the financial year 2007-08, the centre has given Rs 9,003 crore. Even if what Modi claimed (that central assistance to Gujarat is about 2.5 percent of total tax collection of Rs. 40,000 crore by the state) is true, which of course it is not, the central aid was 22.5 percent, not 2.5 percent,” Tewari said.

Challenging the Congress-led government at the centre, Modi has said that he was willing to run Gujarat without any central assistance. Terming the statement as “divisive and dangerous”, the Congress has warned that sedition charges could be slapped on Modi.

The Gujarat chief minister has further alleged that the centre was not providing adequate grants to the state.

“It is a lie. Modi is misleading the nation and Gujarat,” Tewari said.

He also said the central grants to Gujarat had considerably increased ever since Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s coalition government took over in 2004.

Tewari denied Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s allegation that the central government has been discriminating against BJP-ruled states.

According to the Congress spokesperson, of the 10 top states which are benefiting from the centre in terms of grants and allocation, seven are BJP-ruled.

While Uttar Pradesh (BSP-ruled) tops the list of the 10 leading recipient-states for central assistance, Bihar (National Democratic Alliance-ruled), Andhra Pradesh (Congress), West Bengal (Left Front), Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan (both BJP-ruled), Tamil Nadu (DMK), Orissa (NDA), Maharashtra (Congress) and Karnataka (BJP) follow.