BJP, Trinamool Members Spar Over Cut Money Issue In Lok Sabha

BJP and TMC members sparred in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday over Locket Chatterjee's comments against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the cut money issue in the Parliament.

BJP MP Locket Chatterjee

NEW DELHI: BJP and TMC members sparred in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday over Locket Chatterjee's comments against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the cut money issue in the Parliament. Chatterjee, a BJP member, had on Tuesday said that even Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accepted that the Trinamool Congress leaders take the cut money. Her remarks provoked angry reactions from the TMC members, with party MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay demanding that her comments be expunged from the records. "Cut-money is taken by Trinamool leaders from birth to death. The chief minister has accepted that their leaders take it and therefore, asked them to return it. She had said to her party leaders to keep 25 per cent and give 75 per cent to her. Ministers from top to bottom are involved," the Hoogly MP had said during the Zero Hour on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the raging protests against cut money that have rocked Bengal for the last few weeks reached the state capital Kolkata on Tuesday as BJP leaders held a demonstration demanding that senior Trinamool Congress leaders immediately return the people's money. The saffron party workers carrying banners and placards with messages like 'return the cut money', 'Trinamool is a party of cut money' raised slogans against Banerjee and her party leaders. "Mamata Banerjee has asked her party's grassroot level leaders to return cut money. But the reality is they only took 25 per cent of the money while the rest 75 per cent went into the pockets of Banerjee, her family members and a handful of senior leaders. We want her to return the rest 75 per cent money to people," BJP state general secretary Sayantan Basu said. It all began at a TMC councillors' meeting on June 18 when Banerjee lashed out against a section of party functionaries for taking cut money from people for implementing government welfare schemes, and asked them to return the money to those whom they have fleeced. Within days, the protests started as locals staged demonstrations or laid siege outside the houses of Trinamool leaders, councillors and panchayat functionaries, accusing them of taking cut money and demanding its return. Over 40 such protests have been held so far. Facing such unprecedented public anger, some of the accused have either returned the money or given written undertakings promising to return the amounts they had taken from beneficiaries for schemes such as the 'Banglar Bari Awas Yojana'.