Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra on Tuesday dubbed Minister of State for Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti as 'liar' after the latter claimed that she waited for the protesting MPs in her office for over two hours.
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The TMC lawmakers, who have been stationed since Monday in the national capital, had scheduled a meeting with Jyoti at the Krishi Bhavan on Tuesday at 6pm, regarding their demand of release of funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
However the minister claimed that the protesting MPs didn't come to meet her and wasted her around 2.5 hours. "Today 02:30 hours was wasted. I left the office at 08:30 while waiting for the Trinamool MPs," the union minister wrote on X.
In response to Jyoti's claim, TMC leader Moitra alleged that the minister made them wait for three hours and then "ran way" through the back door. "Sorry, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, you are a lying so and so (and I am being polite). You gave our delegation an appointment. You vetted all the names, checked each one off before allowing us to enter, made us wait 3 hrs & then ran away via the back door," Moitra wrote on X.
{{/usCountry}}In response to Jyoti's claim, TMC leader Moitra alleged that the minister made them wait for three hours and then "ran way" through the back door. "Sorry, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, you are a lying so and so (and I am being polite). You gave our delegation an appointment. You vetted all the names, checked each one off before allowing us to enter, made us wait 3 hrs & then ran away via the back door," Moitra wrote on X.
{{/usCountry}}Further, TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee also claimed that Jyoti did not meet them even after giving them an appointment.
"We were scheduled to meet union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti at 6pm today, we waited for 90 minutes, after which we were informed that she will not be able to meet us. Sadhvi Niranjan met Suvendu Adhikari today at 4 pm but we were made to wait here. If she doesn't want to meet us, then it's okay, but we will not go anywhere from here, we will remain sitting here," Banerjee had said.
“40 people walked from Jantar Mantar to Krishi Bhawan. The minister did not meet us even after hours. Mahua Moitra and Derek O'Brien took the initiative to have a meeting with the minister. But we were told that the minister would only meet the leaders and not the victims but he left from the back door. Those who were fighting for the people of Bengal were made to wait for 3 hours, " Banerjee further added.
Read here: Video: Mahua Moitra dragged out as police remove TMC leaders from protest site; ‘Woh ek MP hain’
The Delhi Police had detained around 30 leaders of the TMC on Tuesday during their protest against the Centre for withholding ₹15,000 crore in dues to the state under the MGNREGA. The delegation, led by Abhishek Banerjee, along with party lawmakers held a two-hour dharna at the Rajghat on Monday before being evicted by the police.
On Tuesday, they staged a protest at Jantar Mantar and later took out a march to the Rural Development Ministry at the Krishi Bhawan, where they had an appointment with Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti. However, they were detained by the police and evicted from the ministry premises. The party leaders were released from detention around midnight.
(With inputs from agencies)