Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said the Centre owed Rs 26,500 crore to the state, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said some states did not reduce VAT on petrol and diesel despite the excise duty cut by the Union government in November last year.

Thackeray also accused the Centre of giving a step-motherly treatment to Maharashtra and that the state government was not responsible for the rise in prices of petrol and diesel.