Central team visits villages in Malda and Purba Medinipur to probe ‘corruption’ claims

BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh, meanwhile, said the TMC leaders were busy hiding their assets in the backdrop of the central team visit to Bengal. “The TMC is shaken by their visit. Their leaders are busy hiding televisions, fridges, cars and other expensive items, which they bought by plundering public money. Why are they so scared if they have done no wrong? It is a clear indication that things (the visit) are moving in the right direction,” said Ghosh.

TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh, on the other hand, said, “The BJP is sending such teams to malign the image of the state. Our (Bengal) government has already taken steps to remove the names of those who violated norms from the beneficiaries’ list.”

On Thursday, the two teams separately visited Purba Medinipur and Malda districts to look into the corruption charges. There have been allegations of irregularities in the PMAY after it was found that applications by several people having multi-storey houses were approved in some districts.
The Opposition, particularly the BJP, has been raising the issue and demanding a CBI probe into the matter, while Chief

Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of indulging in political vendetta.

Banerjee, a vociferous critic of the BJP, had lashed out on Thursday and said “The Centre is sending teams to Bengal for trivial matters – even if there is an incident of cracker being burst, it sends teams.”

Meanwhile, leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari in a tweet urged Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh to conduct inspection in every block, if not in every panchayat, “to stop the daylight robbery of central government funds and take appropriate legal steps to punish the perpetrators.”

In continuing protests in rural belt of West Bengal, BJP supporters demonstrated outside the panchayat office in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district Friday, alleging the beneficiaries of PMAY lived in two-storied pucca houses while those living in mud houses were deprived despite having enlisted their names in local panchayats.

Similar protests took place in Tamluk block in Purba Medinipur district. A day ago, villagers gheraoed the panchayat pradhan of Ghutgharia gram panchayat in Bankura alleging the deserving ones did not get money under PMAY. Similar protests were held at TMC-run Bairampur gram panchayat in North 24 Parganas district accusing the pradhan.

Kunal Ghosh said the party would take strict action if any misdeed on the part of heads of TMC-run panchayats come to notice but the BJP is trying to foment disturbances across West Bengal.

“Our leader Abhishek Banerjee had emphasised time and again the party has zero tolerance to any act of misappropriation of funds for rural projects. Several gram panchayat pradhans had been removed from their posts and action initiated against them. In contrast, BJP is yet to take any action against those in the saffron party involved in embezzlement of funds and corruption. When Suvendu Adhilkari points finger at TMC,” Kunal Ghosh added.

CPI(M) leader Samik Lahiri said “both TMC and BJP are two sides of the same coin. Both parties have aided and abetted corruption wherever they are in power. We call upon the people of West bengal to elect the Marxists in great number in panchayats.”

The state’s political cauldron has been on the boil for some time now over allegations and counter allegations of irregularities in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) after it was found applications by several people having multi-storied homes were approved in some districts. The union rural development ministry had sent a communication to the West Bengal government on January 3 informing it of the visit.

With PTI Inputs