'Centre playing dirty politics; if Bengal's dues not cleared, TMC will protest in Delhi'

Kolkata/Durgapur: Stating that the Centre was playing a "dirty political game" and has stopped giving funds for the 100-day work for the past 5 months and is yet to clear dues worth Rs 97,000 crore, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee said that TMC will hold a two-day protest rallies on June 4 and 5 across the state demanding immediate release of the dues. She also warned if the Centre does not clear the dues immediately, then protests will be staged in the national capital as well.

Banerjee left for her three-day tour of Purulia and Bankura on Sunday late afternoon in a chopper. The Chief Minister will hold back-to-back administrative review meetings in Purulia and Bankura on Monday and Tuesday. The TMC chief will also hold booth-level workers' meetings in both the districts on Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Banerjee will be addressing a booth-level workers' meeting at Simulia Battery Ground and then will leave for Bankura for holding an administrative review meeting later in the day.

The following day, Wednesday, she will be addressing the party workers' meeting at Satighat Maidan in Bankura. She is expected to return to Kolkata on the same day.

Banerjee reached Durgapur on Sunday and has put up at the circuit house 'Sampanna'. The Chief Minister would be leaving for Purulia in a chopper on Monday morning and chair the administrative review meeting of the district at Rabindra Bhavan. On reaching Durgapur the TMC supremo said on June 4 and 5 Trinamool workers and all its sister organisations like Trinamool Mahila Congress, Trinamool Youth Congress, Trinamool Chhatra Parishad will stage demonstrations and organise rallies in every block across Bengal.

"The Centre is playing a dirty political game. They have not cleared Rs 97,000 crore and now have stopped sending the fund for 100 days work for the past five months," she said, urging all party leaders, workers and sympathisers to take part in the rallies on June 4 and 5.

Banerjee said she is likely to visit North Bengal in the first week of June. She will hold meetings in East and West Burdwan later in June.

She thanked the people of Asansol for electing Shatrughan Sinha to the Lok Sabha. "I thank all people of Asansol for supporting Sinha ji and electing him in Lok Sabha by-polls. We are committed to carrying out all-around development in the area," Banerjee said.

The Chief Minister will lay the foundation stone and inaugurate several projects in both Purulia and Bankura districts during her visit.

Though the Trinamool Congress improved their performance in Junglemahal in the 2021 Assembly elections, however, the party feels that results in Purulia and Bankura could have been much better. In Bankura, TMC won 4 out of 12 seats while in Purulia they managed to win 3 out of 9 seats. The party is leaving no stone unturned in the strengthening of organisations so that they win convincingly in the Panchayat polls due next year. Meanwhile, security arrangements have been beefed up in both districts ahead of the Chief Minister's visit. Just a few days back, Banerjee had similar programmes in West Midnapore and Jhargram.