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On Mamata’s turf, PM Narendra Modi delivers a‘cut money’ jibe at her
PM Modi targeted Banerjee, one of his fiercest critics, over her government’s refusal to implement the Ayushman Bharat medical insurance programme for the poor and the PM Kisan Samaan scheme for farmers.
‘Cut money’ or commissions from beneficiaries of state-funded social welfare schemes in Bengal that many ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders had allegedly extorted, came back to haunt party president and chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday.
At the sesquicentenary celebrations of Kolkata Port Trust at Kolkata’s iconic Netaji Indoor stadium, Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted Banerjee, one of his fiercest critics, over her government’s refusal to implement the Ayushman Bharat medical insurance programme for the poor and the PM Kisan Samaan scheme for farmers.
“If there are no cuts (commissions), no middlemen and no syndicates, why would anyone be interested in implementing such schemes,” said Modi, drawing loud applause from the audience. “I pray to God that come governments are blessed with the wisdom and poor get the benefit of Central schemes,” said Modi without taking Banerjee’s or the TMC’s name.
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The reference to allegations of corruption that plagued the TMC last year following revelations that its members had extorted money from the poor who tried to avail of government schemes.
Banerjee was not present at the event.
After the ‘cut money’ scandal exploded last summer, Banerjee ordered those leaders who had carried out extortions, to return the money.
There have been agitations and even violence in different districts of the state by angry villagers demanding that the cash extorted from them be returned.
As part of her damage control exercise, Banerjee had said at an administrative review meeting in Hooghly district last August that people in villages should not pay local panchayats for any service under government schemes.
The ‘cut money’ scandal gave the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a stick to beat the TMC with and paint it as a corrupt party interested in filling its own coffers. The TMC maintains that only a few party leaders had extorted ‘cut money’.
The BJP which put up a stunning show in last year’s general elections winning 18 of Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha seats, is aiming to overthrow the TMC in the assembly elections scheduled for 2021. ‘Cut money’ is a chink in the TMC’s armour that the BJP could still try to leverage.
