The Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation, led by party MP Abhishek Banerjee, embarked on a mission to meet Minister of State (MoS) for Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti on Tuesday to address concerns about the alleged non-disbursement of funds related to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and housing schemes to the West Bengal government. However, the delegation claimed that their meeting request was declined by the minister.
The delegation arrived at Krishi Bhawan at 6 p.m. with the intent to meet the minister. Abhishek Banerjee remains at the Bhawan, steadfast in his decision not to leave until the minister agrees to meet with him, according to sources within the Trinamool Congress.
This TMC delegation comprises senior party leaders, Members of Parliament (MPs), and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) who have been stationed in Delhi since the previous day. They initiated a sit-in protest at Rajghat on Monday to coincide with Gandhi Jayanti, calling for the release of MGNREGA funds. TMC activists and leaders arrived in the national capital aboard 49 buses to participate in these protests.
It's worth noting that initially, a total of 50 buses were allocated for the journey. However, one of these buses was involved in an accident in Jharkhand on Sunday. Consequently, the TMC decided to send that particular bus back to Kolkata. The arrangement for buses was made after the Eastern Railway rejected the TMC's request for a special train to transport their supporters to Delhi.
The TMC-led government in West Bengal has accused the central government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of withholding dues amounting to Rs 15,000 crore under the MGNREGA and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) schemes.
On the other hand, the BJP has alleged that the TMC has misappropriated central funds. Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in Bengal, has claimed that there have been significant irregularities in the utilization of MGNREGA funds by the state government. He called for a CBI investigation into the matter, which he believes is necessary due to the magnitude of the alleged scams.
Adhikari also had a meeting earlier in the day with MoS Jyoti to discuss his party's demands and subsequently wrote a letter to Union Minister for Rural Development Giriraj Singh, requesting a central investigation into the alleged embezzlement of Rs 7,929 crore in central funds through the issuance of fake job cards under the MGNREGA scheme.
Â
