Abhishek Banerjee: Centre withheld payments because people of Bengal rejected BJP

Banerjee is in Delhi along with party leaders to protest against delayed payments to MGNREGA job card holders and PMAY beneficiaries in Bengal. The state has accused the Centre for not clearing dues for close to two years.

On Monday, Banerjee held a two-hour sit-in protest at Rajghat to highlight the issue. The party has also planned a protest on Tuesday at Jantar Mantar, for which it has brought a 4,000-strong contingent of MGNREGA job card holders to Delhi.

TMC leaders said the protests will begin at 1 pm and continue till 5 pm following which Banerjee along with senior party leaders will march to Krishi Bhawan to meet Minister of State (Rural Development) Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and put forth their demands. They said they had sought an appointment with Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh but were granted a meeting with Jyoti at 6.30 pm.

On a question if Giriraj Singh, who is away in Begusarai in Bihar, was avoiding meeting the TMC delegation, Banerjee said, “It is clearly understandable and visible from the optics we have seen so far that he does not want to face the delegation…. Because he does not have the answers….”

On Singh’s allegations of corruption in implementation of the MGNREGA scheme in Bengal, he said, “I challenge him to sit with us… The West Bengal government has replied to every query they have sent within 48-72 hours. There is not a single matter which is pending with us. Still they have deliberately withheld the state’s rightful dues because they want the people of Bengal to suffer.”

On Singh suggesting a CBI probe into alleged irregularities, he said, “If there is a CBI inquiry into MGNREGA, Giriraj Singh must be the first person to be arrested. An investigation can happen but it must be a court-monitored probe… If handing the case over to CBI would ensure the disbursal of funds for common people, I welcome it.”

Banerjee accused the Centre of only collecting taxes from Bengal but giving it nothing back. “By releasing the funds you will not do any favour to us. This money belongs to the people. You collect Rs 1 lakh crore from Bengal and give just Rs 20,000-30,000 crore. You keep 70% of all the money. That money funds your propaganda,” he said. According to Banerjee, the Centre owes Rs 1.15 lakh crore to the West Bengal government and under MGNREGA and Awas Yojana, they have withheld nearly Rs 15,200 crore.

The TMC also alleged that attempts were made to stop the protest at Rajghat. “…The CISF, CRPF, and Delhi Police personnel kept assaulting everyone, including our women leaders, consistently,” Banerjee alleged.

After Banerjee completed his speech, Delhi Police officers asked the protesters to vacate the area. “Your protest is causing inconvenience to the public…,” said DCP Central Sanjay Sain. He then gave directions to the security personnel remove the protesters.