Abhishek’s ‘dharna’ forces Governor to meet delegation

Kolkata/ Darjeeling: Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose has assured a Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation which met him in North Bengal that he would soon return to Raj Bhavan and meet another delegation of the party led by its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee who is determined to continue the dharna till it happens.

Addressing the gathering near Raj Bhavan in protest against Centre’s fund blockade, Abhishek Banerjee said: “We came to know through an e-mail that the Governor wants to meet us in Darjeeling. We sent out a delegation as soon as we could from Kolkata. They reached at 3 pm but the Governor was not there. At 5:30 pm, he arrived just when we were supposed to meet him. He had told us that he would be reviewing the flood situation so we thought he would return from Delhi by morning and then meet the victims, and finally meet us in the evening. But it was surprising to see that all he did was just meet us. Why did he not then come to Kolkata to meet us?”

Banerjee added: “The Governor admitted that our demands are justified. About 21,75,000 people are deprived of wages. He said he will meet us at Raj Bhavan soon. But the Governor also said that he can’t do anything if there is any political pressure. This proves what we were saying all along that BJP leaders from Bengal are preventing release of funds. This was also confirmed to us by Krishi Bhavan.” He assured the protestors that soon a day will come when Bengal’s appointed person will be sitting at Raj Bhavan.

Taking a dig at the Union Minister of State (MoS) for Rural Development, Niranjan Jyoti who was in Kolkata on Saturday, Abhishek said she should meet a TMC delegation at Raj Bhavan.

Abhishek said that the Union Minister had used police force on October 03 to drag out the TMC delegation which went to Krishi Bhavan to meet her in Delhi. He remarked: “Now the minister herself had to come to Kolkata. We had said that Bengal will not tolerate the Centre’s zamindari”. He criticised the minister for not showing any courtesy to the TMC delegation in Delhi.

“Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti came to Kolkata for a press conference but couldn’t even call the MGNREGA beneficiaries over a phone to discuss their plight. We can expect no courtesy or humanity from BJP,” he remarked.

He said that the TMC delegation is ready to meet her at Raj Bhavan Kolkata. However, Abhishek said that Niranjan Jyoti who held a press conference in the city at the BJP party office has demanded that the TMC delegation instead come to meet her there. “How can we go to the BJP party office for her? What if I say that from tomorrow state BJP leaders Sukanta Majumdar and Suvendu Adhikari will have to come to Trinamool Bhavan in Topsia to convey their grievances relating to state administration affairs?” Abhishek questioned.

He said that in days to come even the Union minister of Rural Development Giriraj Singh will have to come to Kolkata and so will Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “No one can stop the deprived beneficiaries of Bengal from getting their dues,” Abhishek said.

He alleged that the state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar had claimed in public that funds worth Rs 2000 crore are ready and will be made available to Bengal if he makes one call. Banerjee played a voice clipping on his phone purportedly of Majumdar where he was heard making such a claim.

Sharing two phone numbers of Sukanta, Abhishek said that every deprived beneficiary in Bengal should call on the number and ask Majumdar to ask the Centre to release the funds. Banerjee warned that no one should use any expletives but politely requested the state BJP president to do the needful. TMC leaders said the party will soon circulate the two phone numbers.

“A BJP leader said that they will hold a protest after Durga Puja, which is seven days away. Why are they waiting for so long? Why not hold it within 7 days? BJP cannot match the numbers of the October 5 march in 24 lifetimes, which took us only 24 hours.

If any BJP leader or minister wants to come here to our protest, they can. If they want to claim that we are misleading people, they are most welcome to come here with facts. If required, I can go anywhere with facts at their public meeting if asked. Does the BJP have the courage to accept this challenge? Khela Hobe?” said Abhishek.