The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) sparred over the release of MGNREGA funds to West Bengal as Union Minister Anurag Thakur and MP Abhishek Banerjee exchanged allegations over the same. Anurag Thakur, while addressing the media, pointed fingers at the TMC government, alleging a string of corruption scandals during their tenure while the Diamond Harbour MP accused the Modi government of not paying Bengal its dues.
Anurag Thakur said, "Under the tenure of the TMC government, there have been several scams. Now, Mamata Banerjee has sent her leaders to Delhi led by an MP who has serious corruption allegations against him." Thakur further accused the TMC of "duping the poor of their money under MGNREGA and allotting houses in the name of those who already had houses."
On TMC protest, he remarked, "They did corruption in houses for the poor. They allotted houses to those who already had multi-storeyed houses. After independence, it was only PM Modi's government that made 4 crore 'pucca' houses for the poor... But the TMC government, their officers, and leaders grabbed the poor peoples' rights. I want to ask Mamata Banerjee why the three-storey house owners' names were in the PM Awas Yojana. Why were the eligible people kept out of it?... I want to ask Mamata Didi - why didn't you take action when you were asked by the Centre...Where was the cut money going?... PM Modi has given four times more money to West Bengal than the UPA government..."
"They showed old lakes and roads as new, which were already built...A lot of such illegal works were shown...The Centre asked the State to take appropriate action and provide information. We gave an inquiry report in March 2019... We asked for a comprehensive Action Taken Report (ATR), but they did nothing...They pocketed the money which was for the poor who worked for their family on a daily basis... They took away the money in various scams, they didn't even spare MNREGA," he alleged.
He hit out at Abhishek Banerjee over corruption accusations against him saying, "The Central government kept no shortage for the development of West Bengal... But what happened that Mamata Banerjee had to send her corrupt MPs and leaders... There was no action on corruption in West Bengal but they are sent here for whitewashing... I want to speak in detail about this. A central team did an inquiry in 2019... The observation by the team revealed that huge corruption was divided into small parts... Then the existing works were presented as new works."
Modi Govt Took Money From West Bengal, Keeping It Deprived Of Rights: Abhishek Banerjee
Thakur's remarks sparked a swift response from Abhishek Banerjee, who retorted, "Anurag Thakur says that they gave Rs 2 lakh crore, but the question is how much amount have they taken from West Bengal...They have been in power for nine years and they have taken at least Rs 5-7 lakh crore from West Bengal, there is a deficit of 4 lakh crore who will pay that? You have taken money from the state and are keeping it deprived of rights..."
The confrontation intensified as Banerjee accused the Union government of misbehavior and interference with peaceful protests. He stated, "The way they misbehaved, especially manhandled the media, it clearly shows that BJP is scared. They talk about 56-inch, the biggest party in the country and the world."
He emphasised that if the people stand against the government, change is inevitable. "If the people feel that those who we elected to power have stopped the funds and there is a need to change the government, no one can stop that from happening."
Talking about the Tuesday protest at Jantar Mantar, he said 3.5 thousand job card holders will participate in the demonstration as the Union government has withheld the money of various job card holders for over two years now.
"You are taking money from West Bengal but not giving it to the state. You are not doing a favour by releasing the money, the money belongs to the people of the state. You take 1 Lakh crore from the Bengal government and then give 20,000 crore or 50,000 crore, and you still keep 70% money. You use that money for propoganga, Rs 1500 crore is used to make the new parliament. But you have stalled the Rs 1.5 Lakh belonging to the people," he remarked.
Banerjee criticised the Centre for withholding money from these job card holders saying, "You cannot withhold money of 2 crore people for so many days, and if you do, you have to stop taking money from West Bengal in the name of Income tax and GST."
"You have deliberately stopped the release of money because the people of Bengal did not elect you and rejected you. The BJP is not able to bear it. The BJP is using all its agencies, and the might of its national forces to stop this agitation. These efforts have been unsuccessful as this is not a party's protest but the people's protest," the Diamond Harbour MP said.
He informed that a meeting will be held tomorrow from 1 pm to 5 pm and at around 5:30 pm, the TMC delegation will go to meet Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti.
TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay mentioned that Rs 1 Lakh 15,000 Crores remain to be paid to West Bengal by the Centre from 2019.
The TMC leaders and supporters are preparing for the protest at Jantar Mantar with letters addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighting the non-payment of dues. They claim to have collected over 50 lakh such letters from West Bengal and are will bring letters from other BJP-ruled states as well, focusing on alleged corruption in central schemes, PTI reported sources as informing.