Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday said that the protest movement for Bengal’s funds will resume after Durga puja as he reasoned that political agitation should not continue during the festive season.
Banerjee attended clothes distribution programmes each at Satgachia and Bishnupur in South 24-Parganas. Addressing a mammoth gathering, Banerjee said: “We are already fighting the political fight. Your blessings today inspire us to strengthen our fight against Delhi. After Durga Puja festivities are over, we will start our movement again,” Banerjee said.
“If I don’t meet our people ahead of the festivities, my Durga Puja remains incomplete. This is why I had asked for an event where I could present gifts to our people and meet them. Next year onwards, our party workers will present my gifts to you at your doorstep before Shashti,” he said to the gathering.
Criticising former Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, Banerjee at Satgachia said: “Basu, who served as CM for more than two decades, was Satgachia MLA for years but there was no development here till 2011. The Lok Sabha constituency was under CPI(M) but there was no work for the people. When I got to know that the Bishnupur-2 Block was not being covered in the Falta Mathurapur water project, I spoke to the CM immediately and requested PHE Minister Pulak Roy for their intervention. Then, Rs 565 crore was allocated for the Dongaria augmentation project, covering Bishnupur, which was inaugurated last year.”
He highlighted that work is currently underway. Road renovation work costing Rs 600 crore was undertaken in Satgachia Assembly Constituency in the past 9 years. In total, Rs 3,000 crore was spent on road and repair works in the entire Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha Constituency, he claimed.
Banerjee said: “We set up the Amtala Bus Terminus. The longstanding demand for an auditorium, which cost the exchequer Rs 26 crore, will also be inaugurated next month. I gave Rs 50 lakh from my MPLAD fund to a nearby hospital for an infrastructure upgrade costing a total of Rs 2 crore. Work on Amtala Rural Hospital is underway and the same is the case with the bypass road.”
Hitting out at the Opposition on Panchayat polls, Banerjee said: “We set an example across the country by ensuring over 1.5 lakh nominations by Opposition leaders during the panchayat polls. Yet, TMC won 80 per cent of the total seats, including Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti, and Gram Panchayat areas.”