TMC will send 1 crore letters signed by MGNREGA workers to PM seeking funds: Abhishek Banerjee

He said his party would continue to fight for the issue as the “hard-earned money of the people is at stake”.

The BJP had won from Alipurduar in both the 2019 Lok Sabha and the 2021 Assembly elections. Referring to his party’s defeat in the district in the two polls, Banerjee said, “The people of Alipurduar supported BJP but what has the BJP given the people in return? Forget about your MP and MLA, not one BJP leader can be seen here since the elections. The people of Alipurduar should introspect among themselves, as to how such leaders, who can’t be seen after polls, were elected to power. These BJP leaders have not done a single thing for the people of Bengal. Instead, the BJP leaders from Bengal wrote letters asking the Centre to not give money to Bengal. They wrote a letter asking the Centre to deprive their own people of their hard-earned money.”

“From this stage today, I ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President JP Nadda, and Union Minister Giriraj Singh, instead of showing your might with ED and CBI, release the funds owed to Bengal. If these BJP leaders have the guts, they should release the funds. If anyone’s guilty, arrest them. But don’t let the common man suffer unnecessarily,” added Banerjee.

He then said, “I request all TMC leaders from Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Dinajpur, Cooch Behar and Kakdwip to prepare a list and meet the families who are deprived of their dues. Meet the people who have not received their wages. Ask the families to write a letter and collect them. We will send these letters to the Prime Minister and the Union Minister. One crore letters from the people of Bengal will be sent to the Prime Minister demanding our share of funds. I will take all these letters to the central government in Delhi. We will then see if the Centre can stop us from entering with letters from one crore people of Bengal. 1 crore, 38 lakh families in Bengal have registered for 100 Days’ work. These families haven’t been given justice. We have to reach out to these 2.62 crore people. Let us initiate our outreach drive to get the letters signed on April 15. This programme will run across the State.”

Referring to the visit that the 25-member delegation of TMC MPs paid to Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh’s office in New Delhi’s Krishi Bhawan on Wednesday (April 5), Banerjee said, “Three days back, along with 25 MPs, I went to Delhi and tried to meet the Union Minister for Rural Development Giriraj Singh. However, he didn’t give us an appointment, even though he was in Delhi. That is because Giriraj Singh didn’t have the guts to meet us. The Union minister didn’t have any answer to our questions and hence, evaded the meeting.”

The lawmakers had claimed that nearly Rs 7,000 crore is pending under the NREGA.

“The political remarks that I make here today are not to seek votes. Instead, they highlight the plight of the common man who is being harassed by the BJP-led central government. Last week, you saw how Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sat on a dharna at Red Road in Kolkata to protest against the delay in the payments for the 100 Days’ Work Scheme by the Centre. It’s the people’s right and their rightful money is being withheld by the BJP.”

Talking about the welfare of tea garden workers, the TMC MP said, “In 2011, the daily wage of tea garden workers was around Rs 67. Today, our government has increased that to Rs 232. The people of the Hills had listed various issues during my last visit here. Today, we have solved most of them. Very soon, we will be inaugurating 71 creches and 42 Primary Health Centres in districts. Within six months, all our promises will be fulfilled. Trinamool will be there with you in all times of need, not just in your good days…Panchayat polls are coming up, and let me assure you, the people of villages will choose their candidates for Panchayat Elections.”