Day after ED raids, Mamata announces to continue effort to pay dues of MGNREGS workers
Telegraph | 8 February 2024
A day after the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids in connection with the alleged irregularities in the 100 days’ job scheme across the state, chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced that her government would continue its effort to pay the dues of about 21 lakh MGNREGS workers.
“They (the Centre) did not clear the dues of 21 lakh workers who had worked under the 100 days’ job scheme for the past two years… We have started sending money (to their accounts) to clear their dues,” said the chief minister during a government benefit distribution programme in Howrah’s Santragachi on Wednesday.
Sources in state secretariat Nabanna, who are aware of the development, said the chief minister perhaps wanted to say that the state government had started the process to send the money to workers' accounts.
“No money has been sent yet. But before transferring the money, the process to verify the workers' identity and their account details has started. An instruction in this regard was sent to the districts on Monday,” a senior official said.
Mamata did not mention any central agency by name, but criticised the Centre for not releasing funds to Bengal for welfare schemes and depriving the people of Bengal. She vowed to fight against the Centre’s deprivation.
“We were number 1 in the (implementation of) 100 days’ job scheme and that’s why the Centre stopped releasing funds.... (Central) funds were also stopped for projects like rural housing and rural roads,” said the chief minister.
The chief minister then described how her party Trinamul was fighting for the cause of those who worked under the 100 days’ job scheme but did not get their wages.
“The MPs and MLAs under the leadership of Abhishek (Abishekh Banerjee, Trinamul’s national general secretary) went to Delhi.... Trains were cancelled, but they went by bus. I sat in a demonstration for 48 hours. I feel lucky if I can do something for the common people, the poor and the needy,” said the chief minister.
Sources in Trinamul said the chief minister did not take the name of the ED in her speech as she did not want to give importance to Tuesday's raids conducted by the central agency.
“Her focus is now to corner the BJP-led Centre over stopping the release of funds to Bengal. She did not mention the ED raids as she does not want to give importance to the raids. If she does not give importance to the raids, it sends a message that the state government is not worried about the raids at all,” said a Trinamul insider.
However, the chief minister criticised the Centre for the plight of MGNREGS workers and vowed to continue questioning the Narendra Modi government and reach out to the common people ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
“It is clear that Trinamul is set to use the Centre’s deprivation as a weapon against the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Since schemes like the 100 days’ job scheme, rural roads and rural housing have a huge impact on rural lives, the chief minister is focusing on these schemes only and she is trying to remind people of the state they are suffering only because of the BJP-led Centre’s decision of not releasing funds to the state,” said the party insider.