Kolkata: Praising the West Bengal budget presented Monday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee termed it as an effort to "grow trees in a desert".

Assailing the erstwhile Left Front government for leaving the state coffers empty, Banerjee said: "They borrowed indiscriminately from the centre and left the finances bankrupt."

"When we came to power, we had to start from negative in finance matters. We have made an honest effort to generate revenue within our limited means. The budget attempts to grow trees in a desert, create greenery in a desert. The budget is rooted to the ground. It will benefit all," she said.

On the other hand, Leader of Opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra, of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) alleged that the budget would lead to all-round price rise with Finance Minister Amit Mitra raising both the lower and upper limits of Value Added Tax (VAT).

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