Trinamul Congress MP and party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee today challenged the Centre to publish a white paper detailing every rupee allocated to Bengal since 2021.
Trinamul Congress MPs today protested at the parliament House demanding release of the dues to the Bengal government.
In X handle Mr Banerjee wrote “If the Modi government truly drove Bengal’s development as he theatrically claims then let them accept @abhishekaitc’s challenge. Release white paper detailing every allocated to Bengal since their humiliating 2021 defeat.”
Mrs Nimala Sitharaman said in Parliament yesterday that funds under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) cannot be released because of lack of transparency.
Trinamul Congress alleged that the Centre has not cleared Bengal’s dues worth Rs 1,96,277.43 crore to the Bengal government.
The MGNREGA dues have reached a staggering Rs 43,014.76 crore. Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Trinamul Congress Lok Sabha MP said the Centre is not clearing the dues despite the Supreme Court order which directed the Centre to clear the dues.
“Imagine the Finance Minister of India, a constitutional office-bearer, lying through her teeth on the floor of Parliament. If the Modi Govt. truly “drove Bengal’s development,” as she theatrically claims, then let them accept Shri @abhishekaitc’s challenge. RELEASE WHITE PAPER detailing every rupee allocated to Bengal since their humiliating 2021 defeat.
“But they won’t. Because they can’t. Because the truth is politically lethal. The BJP Govt. at the Centre, fuelled by spite and vendetta, has CHOKED BENGAL OF Rs 1,96,277.43 crore under Central schemes. This includes: Rs 43,014.76 crore stolen from the poorest MGNREGA workers; Rs 24,275 crore blocked from rural homeless families waiting for Awas Yojana (Grameen); Rs 2,724.11 crore denied for rural connectivity under Gram Sadak Yojana and Rs 2,524.99 crore withheld from the Jal Jeevan Mission, depriving the poor of drinking water.
If they dare, let them prove even a single line wrong. And while they are at it, perhaps they can explain why Bengal should implement BJP’s exclusionary Ayushman Bharat when the fully state-funded Swasthya Sathi already covers 8.72 crore people across 2.45 crore families.
Dr Ghosh Dastidar said that 64 teams were sent to West Bengal. The Centre’s politics against the people of the state who are daily wagers and depend on MGNREGA, will not work. She added that the protest by the MPs at the Parliament will continue.
Dola Sen, Trinamul Congress Rajya Sabha MP said the people of the state are watching how the state has been denied the dues and abandoned after the BJP’s humiliating defeat in the 2021 Assembly election. “In 2026 the people will give a befitting reply to the BJP’s Bangla Birodhi attitude,” she said.