Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, along with fellow party leaders and supporters, staged a dharna at Rajghat on Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary, demanding the release of funds for West Bengal by the Centre.
Accompanied by MPs, MLAs, and state ministers from West Bengal, Banerjee and his party members paid their respects to Gandhi at his memorial. Wearing black armbands and holding placards, they protested for about two hours before being escorted away by security personnel.
Banerjee asserted that the Central Government's actions were indicative of their fear, despite their claims of being a formidable party.
The TMC accused the central government of obstructing their peaceful protest and alleged that security personnel had harassed and mistreated the protesters.
Following their demonstration at Rajghat, Banerjee visited Lal Bahadur Shastri's memorial at Vijay Ghat and paid tribute to the former prime minister on his birth anniversary.
The placards held by Banerjee and his supporters demanded that the Centre "release funds for Bengal" and highlighted that Bengal was owed Rs. 15,000 crore, affecting 1.15 crore families.
The Trinamool Congress, in West Bengal, has accused the BJP-led NDA government of withholding Rs. 15,000 crore in dues to the state under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and PM Awas Yojana.
The protest lasted approximately two hours, after which the TMC leaders were escorted away by security personnel. Banerjee addressed the media outside Rajghat, but loudspeakers were used by the police to disperse the TMC leaders and supporters.
The Trinamool Congress voiced their frustration, questioning why the BJP-led Central Government was afraid of a peaceful protest on Gandhi Jayanti, a day of national significance.
They also shared a video of a police officer instructing the TMC leaders to vacate the area.
The party leaders alleged that derogatory comments were made by an IPS officer about their peaceful protest and that female leaders were subjected to mistreatment by the police.
The Trinamool Congress criticized the BJP-led central government for showing disrespect to the democratic process and the voices of the people.
They contended that raising their concerns for the people's rights was being labeled as a "tamasha" (drama), and on Gandhi Jayanti, all they had sought was a peaceful dharna for the betterment of their constituents.
Speaking to the media before leaving the venue, Banerjee remarked that the BJP government was "scared."
On the following day, TMC leaders and supporters planned to stage a protest at Jantar Mantar, highlighting the non-payment of dues. They claimed to have brought over 50 lakh letters addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from West Bengal.
TMC sources mentioned that letters would also be delivered from BJP-ruled states like Assam, Goa, Tripura, and Meghalaya, highlighting alleged corruption in central schemes.
A spokesperson for the Trinamool Congress, Biswajit Dev, accused the Centre of undermining the rural employment scheme MGNREGA, deeming it an affront to Mahatma Gandhi, after whom the scheme is named.
Chaiti Barman Barua, a TMC leader from Cooch Behar, expressed their intention to have their voices heard in Delhi.
Joy Banerjee, who came from Purulia in West Bengal, alleged that many trains and flights scheduled for TMC leaders were canceled.
Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee was expected to attend the event in New Delhi, but her participation became unlikely due to a knee injury, and she was advised ten days of rest by doctors. In March of the same year, the chief minister had conducted a two-day sit-in against the Centre's alleged withholding of funds for MGNREGA and other welfare schemes.
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