Bengal Assembly passes motion condemning Centre’s decision to hold up funds under several rural development schemes

 Motion makes it clear that ruling party is all set to use lack of 100 days' job scheme as tool to counter BJP ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls

Arkamoy Datta Majumdar, TT, Calcutta, 02.08.23: The Bengal Assembly on Tuesday passed a motion condemning the Centre’s decision to hold up funds under several rural development schemes alleging financial irregularities, and termed it Bengal's financial deprivation for political reasons.

The motion makes it clear that ruling Trinamul is all set to use the lack of the 100 days' job scheme — the Centre has frozen funds for its implementation in Bengal — as a tool to counter the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Trinamul MLAs Nirmal Ghosh, Tapas Roy and Ashok Kumar Deb moved the motion.

According to the motion, the Centre is depriving the state of funds under multiple schemes, including rural jobs, rural roads and rural housing. It criticised the role played by the Centre and accused the Narendra Modi government of pursuing a path against the spirit of India's federal structure.

"This is why, this House sternly protests against the deprivation (inflicted) by the Union government and at the same time demands immediate action for the allocation of funds for the state under the 100 days' job and Awas (housing) schemes," the motion read.

"Thousands of grievances related to the absence of these schemes have been lodged through the Sorarsori Mukhyamantri (Directly Connect to the Chief Minister)" interface these past couple of months," said a Trinamul leader to this correspondent.

The Trinamul leadership thinks that its performance in the rural polls, in which its main focus was Bengal's deprivation by Delhi, indicates how the rural populace is upset with the BJP-led Centre's discrimination.

"In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, we will highlight it with more intensity," said the source.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee recently announced that the Bengal government would run its own 100 days’ job scheme from its resources.

Trinamul's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee announced that party cadres would go to Delhi on October 2 to demand Bengal's legitimate dues from the Centre.

On Tuesday, leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said the Centre was forced to stop funds because of rampant corruption.

"You will not get the money if the theft is not stopped. Stop the theft and we can together go to Delhi to seek funds," he said in the House.

Reacting to the charge and speaking in favour of the motion, state finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya asked why people should be made to suffer for political reasons. She claimed that 150 central teams visited Bengal to probe complaints of corruption but found nothing.

"The Union panchayat minister did not meet our parliamentarians. But he does write to the leader of the Opposition," she said.

Panchayat department sources said that they had sent action-taken reports after the Centre asked them to take steps, including recovery of misappropriated funds and legal action against culprits, but no reply came from Delhi since then.