Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee will be leading the protest by her party in New Delhi on October 2 against the Centre’s move to “illegally” withhold funds it owes to Bengal.
The ruling party has already been staging protests in the state, demanding that the Centre disburse the pending amount of Rs 1.15 lakh crore. Mamata had said that in the 2023-24 Central budget, the Central government did not allot funds for Bengal for 100 days of work whereas funds were allotted to states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and even Odisha. “Why not Bengal? The West Bengal government has instead given 28-day jobs to the job card holders of the MGNREGA scheme,” she informed.
During the July 21 Martyrs’ Day event, the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee had said that he was permitted by Mamata to launch the mega protest in Delhi on Gandhi Jayanti (October 2). Abhishek had appealed to the party workers and common people to join the protest outside Krishi Bhavan. “The anti-poor BJP government at the Centre has stopped the funds for the 100 days of work scheme amounting to Rs 7,500-8,000 crore,” he had said.
Party sources said that the decision of Mamata to lead the protest came as a surprise to them since the party supremo is lately occupied with her efforts to solidify the alliance of 26 opposition parties (INDIA bloc) to fight the BJP tooth and nail in 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Hence, she had so far left the responsibility for organising the protest with Abhishek.
It is also learnt that Abhishek, who is now in the United States for eye treatment, will be preparing the ground for the October 2 event once he returns to Kolkata by the end of this month.