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BJP spreading lies about submission of utilisation certificates for central projects: Mamata

BJP spreading lies about submission of utilisation certificates for central projects: Mamata
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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of "peddling lies" on the state government's submission of utilisation certificates for central projects and urged the BJP leadership to hold the mirror to themselves. Addressing a meeting at Harischandrapur in Malda Uttar Lok Sabha constituency, Banerjee alleged that 32 Central government departments have not submitted utilisation certificates of Rs 52,000 crore spent by them.

"Amit Shah has claimed at a meeting in Memari that we have not sent utilisation certificates for Rs 2.32 lakh crore spending by our government. The money sent by Centre since 2011 before they blocked all funds to the state three years back," she said at the second meeting at Malda Shakti Sangha ground in Malda town. "I challenge him to prove it," she said.

"This is nothing but falsehood. Since coming to power 13 years ago, we have given every single break-up of expenses in utilisation certificates. I cannot take responsibility for whatever had happened during the reign of CPI(M) before 2011," she said.

Banerjee said though BJP in a "vindictive manner" withheld the money for 100 days' work for Bengal, "we cannot let our people suffer. We have mobilised money so that 59 lakh people have already got money under 50 days' work. The Centre has two weapons - spreading lies and stopping central funds due to us."

"We will never bow before the Centre. They had stopped Awas Yojana money, but we have managed to provide housing funds for 11 lakh houses," she said. Banerjee accused BJP leaders of only "badmouthing and threatening Bengal." "A BJP minister has recently said they will never allow me to stop NRC in Bengal. I take up the challenge. We will not allow NRC in Bengal. We will not allow uniform civil code in Bengal," she said at the second rally. In the first rally at Harischandrapur, she said it was Bengal which gave birth to two national anthems of two countries - India and Bangladesh - reminding only its soil can give birth to illustrious sons like Tagore, Kazi Nazrul, Netaji, Vidyasagar and Vivekananda. BJP is now "dishonouring" this heritage of Bengal, she said and claimed that BJP won't ever be able to match the vibes and wavelength of Bengal and remain a party of outsiders.

"If you want to protect the culture of Bengal, you have to defeat BJP," she said, adding Bengal knows how to protect and give respect to women. "Instead BJP has forgotten what has been done to women in Hathras in UP, to Bilkis Bano in Gujarat. What has been done to our medal winner women wrestlers," she said. Banerjee accused the BJP of changing the very definition of Hinduism and giving it a different twist endangering the existence of lower caste Hindus like dalits, and backwards.

"They will gradually throw out everyone other than upper caste Hindus from this country. But we will oppose that tooth and nail," she said.

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