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On TMC's 'left through back door' charge, Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti's 'waited for 2.5 hours' counter
TMC MPs including Abhishek Banerjee were removed from sit-in protest at Krishi Bhawan and detained.
Union minister of state for rural development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti on Wednesday refuted Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee's allegations of refusing to meet him and the party lawmakers over release of funds by the Centre to West Bengal.
High drama unfolded in the Capital on Tuesday night after Banerjee and the TMC MPs were forcibly removed from the sit-in protest at the Krishi Bhavan, the Union Rural Development Ministry office. The TMC delegation had been sitting on a dharna after alleging the minister did not meet them at the scheduled time of 6 pm.
“She met BJP leaders and made us wait. At 8.30 pm, she left through the back door”, Abhishek Banerjee had alleged. The TMC MPs were briefly detained after being removed from the protest.
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Denying TMC's allegation, the minister told news agency ANI,"I was in my constituency yesterday. As soon as I got information about TMC MPs wanting meet me, I left everything and rushed to Delhi. I had given them appointment for 6:30 pm as there would be a problem in case my flight got delayed. I was sitting in my office at 6:30 pm. My PS was first told five people would meet me. Then, the TMC delegation told 10 people would be there in the meeting".
Further, Jyoti said the TMC leaders insisted on her meeting the supporters accompanying the delegation.
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“I told them to put their agenda on the table and discussions would be held then. The TMC alleges that the Narendra Modi government is blocking West Bengal's funds. I was looking forward to putting forward data in front of the TMC delegation. During the UPA regime, Bengal got only ₹14,000 crore while ₹54,000 crore was given to the state in the past nine years. In the PM Awas Yojana, Bengal got ₹4,400 crore under UPA regime. We gave ₹30,000 crore to the state”, she said, while listing more schemes under which funds were allocated to West Bengal.
“If they really wanted to talk, they would met me. The TMC MPs are alleging I didn't meet them! I waited for 2.5 hours and then had to leave after posting a tweet. Am I lying?”, the minister said.
Giriraj Singh, the cabinet minister for rural development, came out in support of his colleague, saying,"MoS Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti kept waiting till 8:30 pm in the Krishi Ministry but no MP or minister came to meet her...In Bengal, under Mamata Banerjee's government, we gave more than ₹2 lakh crores...They have misbehaved with MoS Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and now they're trying to subdue that".
