KOLKATA: Amid a slugfest between the BJP and Trinamool Congress (TMC) over corruption in Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the ruling party on Thursday, shared a list of about six BJP leaders in Bengal who allegedly availed benefits from the scheme knowing that it is meant for the poor.
Political mudslinging has ensued in Bengal with Opposition parties training their guns at the state government for allegedly enlisting affluent TMC leaders in the list for PMAY. The ruling party on Thursday shared a list with the Press, alleging that about six BJP leaders in Bengal have enrolled their names in the list to avail the benefits of this scheme meant to provide housing facilities to the poor.
In its list, the TMC named Nishith Pramanik, MP from Cooch Behar and minister of state in the Central Government and claimed that his father Bidhu Bushan Pramanik’s name is in the beneficiary list.
Pratima Gharami, wife of Dibakar Gharami, MLA Sonamukhi, Bankura district also features in the beneficiary list. The other names are Tufan Mahato, BJP district president of Jhargram. His name allegedly features in the list along with that of his brothers. Lakshmi Majumder, BJP Gram Panchayat (GP) member of Guma I GP in Ashoknagar Assembly constituency, is also present in the list, according to TMC.
The name of Bhaskar Chandra Shit, father of Narayan Shit, BJP pradhan of Jagdalla-I Gram Panchayat in Bankura-I Block, is also on the list. TMC also alleged that the beneficiary list contained the name of Rabin Ghosh’s wife Lehali Gope. Rabin is BJP Panchayat samiti savapati of Raghunath II block in Purulia district. The TMC said that “the list is a reality check for BJP’s claims of being corruption-free”.
In 2022, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that the Central government isn’t releasing funds to Bengal for PMAY. She had sought his intervention. Recently, the Millennium Post reported that West Bengal has completed sanctioning about 90 per cent of the total target in PMAY. About 10,19,795 houses which have received sanctioning till the year’s end must be completed by the end of 2022-2023 financial year. The central government on November 24, 2022, had sanctioned funds to the tune of Rs 8,200 crore for PMAY in which allotment for 11.36 lakh houses was made.