New Delhi: The tussle between the Centre and West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress aggravated Monday as thousands of party workers and leaders flooded Delhi to protest the BJP’s decision to delay funds to the state for rural jobs and housing.
Confronted with the “Dilli Chalo” agitation – which began with a sit-in at Rajghat Monday morning – Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh called Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee an “urban naxal”, and said she behaved like North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
At his parliamentary constituency Begusarai in Bihar, Singh added Mamata “kills” those who speak against her, and those who win panchayat elections against her. “Yeh ek hatyari sarkar bhi hai. Ek loot ki sarkar bhi hai,” he said.
Singh slammed Banerjee for spreading anarchy in the country as over 4,000 Trinamool workers descended on the capital in 50 buses to take part in the two-day demonstration.
He also accused her of not cooperating with the Centre’s investigation into mismanagement of funds in Bengal for the flagship schemes — Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
Singh said nearly 25 lakh MGNREGA job cards in Bengal had been found to be fake, duplicate or in the name of dead people. “This came to light when the Aadhaar seeding was done. I ask Mamata Banerjee to return the looted money to the people. Those eligible for houses (under PMAY) have not been allotted flats either,” he said.
In February this year, the Centre pushed for an Aadhaar Based Payment System (ABPS) for wage settlement under MGNREGA. Though it is not mandatory right now, most states have completed or are about to complete Aadhaar seeding of active MGNREGA workers.
While TMC leaders protested in Delhi demanding the immediate release of funds for these welfare projects, Singh said the Centre was mulling a CBI inquiry into their mishandling in Bengal. “The West Bengal government is not cooperating in the investigation. We are planning a CBI probe,” he said, adding the Centre had not stopped funding for any other scheme.
Trinamool MP Saugata Roy returned fire with fire, calling Singh “a ruffian from Begusarai”. “He has a loud mouth. He is afraid of meeting us and has not been giving appointments. He said he would be in Chhattisgarh but is in Begusarai instead,” Roy said.
Meanwhile, in a post on X, the Trinamool accused the Centre of withholding Rs 6,907.15 crore under MGNREGA. Roy told thePrint: “The Centre is not releasing the state’s share under MGNREGA and PMAY. The minister is lying when he says the state government is not cooperating with the investigation.”
The Union minister also took a swipe at the amount of money Bengal had got under the previous Congress-led UPA government.
“Under UPA, Bengal got only Rs 58,000 crore, but NDA gave Rs 2 lakh crore overall for the state’s development in the last nine years. This demonstrates the Prime Minister’s commitment towards the development of West Bengal,” he said.
He pointed out Bengal got Rs 14,900 crore from the UPA for flagship schemes like the MGNREGA, while that figure for the NDA stood at Rs 54,000 crore.
“Under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, only Rs 5,400 crore was spent by the UPA, but more than double – Rs 11,000 crore – has been spent by the Modi government,” Singh said.
Non-compliance, says Centre
The Centre stopped the funding from MGNREGA to Bengal on 9 March, 2022. Minister of State for Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti told Lok Sabha on 1 August, 2023 that the funds were blocked “for non-compliance of directives of the central government”.
Parliament was told that the Centre owes the Bengal government Rs 2,770 crore for wages and Rs 2,813 crore material cost as on 26 July 2023.
Trinamool has alleged the Centre has withheld the state’s share of Rs 15,000 crore under the two schemes. In a post on X, it said, “People of Bengal are raising their voice against injustice! @BJP4India has ruthlessly withheld ₹15,000 crore due to Bengal under the MGNREGA and Awas Yojana. Those adversely impacted have written letters to the PM @narendramodi seeking their rightful dues. Bengal will fight till justice is restored.”