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‘Don’t lie’: Mamata hits back in election slugfest
First, Banerjee held a press conference at the state secretariat in the afternoon and countered Shah’s claim that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, which stormed to power in 2011 after ending a three-decade Left rule, failed to deliver and lagged behind other states on various parameters, except corruption and extortion.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday dismissed Union home minister Amit Shah’s contention about lack of development in the state as “garbage of lies”, announced additional funds for social welfare schemes and accused the central government of dividing the country, pulling out all the stops against an aggressive Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that is ready to challenge her in the assembly elections early next year.
First, Banerjee held a press conference at the state secretariat in the afternoon and countered Shah’s claim that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, which stormed to power in 2011 after ending a three-decade Left rule, failed to deliver and lagged behind other states on various parameters, except corruption and extortion.
“I want to tell Amitji that you are the home minister and it does not suit you to shell out lies provided by your party workers without cross-checking,” Banerjee said, rebutting Shah, who visited the state over the weekend to bolster the BJP’s election campaign and launched a scathing criticism of the TMC administration.
“I will only speak on two things today: he said we are a zero in industry, [but] we are number one in MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises). He also said that we have not constructed village roads, [but] we are number one on that count too and this information has been shared by the government of India,” Banerjee said.
“Why are you speaking garbage of lies to people. Tell the truth,” she added, while also highlighting the success of her government’s schemes for distributing cash among girls of economically backward families and bicycles among students. “Some people coming from Delhi are jealous and they keep spreading falsehoods.”
On Sunday, Shah visited Visva Bharati, Bengal’s only central university set up by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in Birbhum, and led a massive BJP rally in the heart of Bolpur town.
Banerjee on Monday also said she had written a letter to Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, reiterating the state’s request to route the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme funds through her government for disbursal among the farmers. Under PM-Kisan, the Centre provides an income support of ₹6,000 a year to farmers with a valid enrolment. The amount is paid in three equal cash transfers of ₹2,000 — one every four months.
The Bengal government has yet to implement it, as well as the Ayushman Bharat health scheme. “We never said we will not give the money to the farmers, but we wanted that the funds be routed through the state government,” Banerjee said.
She announced the increase of expenditure on social welfare and development schemes by an additional ₹8,700 crore. This amount, she said, will be disbursed over the next month and allotted to different departments, ranging from panchayat to health.
“The government spent ₹20,212 crore in 2020-21 on development expenditure...But after witnessing the demand for such schemes at the camps being held for the “Duware Sarkar” (government at the doorsterp) programme, we have decided to release an additional ₹8700 crore over the next one month,” Banerjee said, referring to a flagship outreach programme launched by her government earlier this month.
The BJP was quick to hit back. “The CM’s announcement made it clear that she treats people only as vote bank. The TMC government works only for political benefits,” said Samik Bhattacharya, the chief spokesperson of the BJP’s state unit.
Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, too, called a press conference and questioned the state‘s refusal to implement central schemes. “She wrote [to the Centre] that this money (for PM Kisan) should be given to the state government. Why should that be done when beneficiaries are getting the money directly in their accounts across the country?” he asked.
Speaking to reporters, Banerjee also announced that she will visit Birbhum district on December 28 for an official meeting, and also lead a roadshow the next day. Later in the evening, she inaugurated the Christmas festival at Allen Park in the city’s posh Park Street area, where she said the BJP-led government at the Centre was bent on “dividing the country”.
“The BJP government has cancelled the public holiday on Christmas after coming to power. Why did they do so? Don’t they have any regard for the sentiments of the Christian community?” Banerjee said. “Is there secularism in India? I am sorry to say that a typical politics of hatred is going on.”
Banerjee’s remarks appeared to refer to the BJP government’s decision in 2014 — it came to power that year — to celebrate December 25 as “Good Governance Day”, a move that triggered widespread controversy amidst apprehensions that the holiday will be scrapped. To be sure, Christmas remains a public holiday as per the Centre’s list.
BJP state general secretary Sayantan Basu said it was Banerjee who violated secular values by declaring monthly stipend for Imams of the state’s mosques. “A person who makes political statements from administrative meetings every day has no right to talk about the Constitution,” he said.
Meanwhile, the election heat in Bengal appeared to have reached Mumbai, where ruling coalition member Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) hit out at the BJP. Speaking to reporters, Maharashtra minister and NCP national spokesperson Nawab Malik said Banerjee called up NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday. The BJP’s “use” of central machinery to “destabilise” the Bengal government could be discussed by other non-BJP parties in Delhi, Malik said, in an indication that the fiercely fought Bengal election could be catapulted to the national stage.
Banerjee’s government has been at odds with the Centre over a host of issues; the latest being the Centre directing three Indian Police Service (IPS) officers to join central duty for their alleged dereliction of duty during an attack on the convoy of BJP president JP Nadda in the state on December 10. “The IPS officers have been withdrawn without the consent of the West Bengal government, which is very dangerous. West Bengal chief minister has discussed the issue with Pawar saheb,” Malik said. He added that the BJP’s “programme to destabilise” elected governments in states “is not right and not in line with democracy”.
(with HTC in Mumbai, and agency inputs)
