Kolkata, Dec 2 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday claimed that the state never drifted from its development path in spite of the Centre withholding its dues in crucial schemes involving rural upliftment.
She claimed that her government has generated employment for two crore people during her 14-year rule, and an additional one crore jobs will be created in the future.
Presenting the report card of 14 years of the Trinamool Congress government, barely months ahead of the 2026 assembly polls in the state, Banerjee said West Bengal topped the country in MGNREGA job allocation and constructions in rural housing and village roads four times in a row, before the Centre withheld money.
“Despite that, we launched our own schemes to continue with those projects by mopping up our own resources. Now, yet another election is knocking at our doors, when will the Centre clear our dues?” she asked.
Taking a potshot at the newly elected NDA government in Bihar, Banerjee said, “In Bihar, they distributed Rs 10,000 among women before the assembly polls and mobilised bulldozers after the elections got over. In our state, women have received Rs 60,000 under the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme every year for the past five years.” Stating that over 2.2 crore women in West Bengal currently receive Lakshmir Bhandar aid, the CM said that the state government has spent over Rs 1 lakh crore on the Khadya Sathi food security scheme, covering over 9 crore people; and Rs 1,717 crore under Duare Ration (doorstep delivery of subsidised food) to 7 crore people.
“We have enhanced budgetary allocation in the state’s health sector by six times in the last 14 years,” she said.
Claiming that West Bengal now serves as a model in various fields for the rest of India, especially in rural development and the MSME sector, Banerjee stated that the state currently ranks second in the country in attracting foreign tourists. PTI SMY SUS ACD
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