Trinamool Congress to observe ‘black day’ today

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday said that they will observe the day of Union Home minister Amit Shah’s arrival in Kolkata to attend a rally of the BJP, as a ‘black day.’

The members of the party’s legislative team in the state will attend the ongoing winter session in the Assembly in black clothes.

Besides observing a ‘black day’ on Wednesday, the Trinamool will also be holding a two-hour protest for three consecutive days from Tuesday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. against non-payment of central government’s dues to Bengal under several centrally-sponsored schemes including MGNREGA, Awas Yojana.

Shah’s rally, on Wednesday, will be held at the same place where Trinamool conducts its Martyrs’ Day programme every year on July 21.

Apart from Shah, the rally is supposed to be attended by Union minister of State for Rural Development Giriraj Singh and the State minister Niranjan Jyoti.

The ruling party in the state has, however, said that the BJP-led Centre has hatched a conspiracy against the state government. False allegations are being levelled against the state government by the BJP to take political advantage ahead of Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has already started disbursing funds to those deprived MGNREGA workers who accompanied him to Delhi’s protest. Banerjee has written letters to 3000 MGNREGA job card holders extending financial aid.

Meanwhile, TMC MLAs began a demonstration on the state Assembly campus on Tuesday, seeking immediate release of central funds for the rural job scheme MGNREGA.

Led by Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, the TMC MLAs raised slogans against the BJP-led government at the Centre, accusing it of depriving the state’s poor people.

“The Centre is violating the Constitution, and depriving the state of its due funds. Thousands of MGNREGA job-card holders in the state are also being deprived because of the vendetta politics of the Centre,” Chattopadhyay alleged.