The Trinamool Congress will stage a peaceful sit-in at Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial Rajghat on Monday, a prelude to its big protest in the national capital on October 3 against the denial of MGNREGA and housing scheme funds to the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government.
With Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee advised bed rest for 10 days following a knee injury, the charge will be led by party general secretary and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, who reached Delhi on Sunday.
While the Rajghat sit-in will see the participation of TMC MPs and ministers, Tuesday’s rally will be carried out by party workers along with MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme) job card holders. As many as 49 buses with TMC supporters and MGNREGA cardholders are expected to reach the national capital on Monday.
The buses were arranged by the party after the Indian Railways allegedly refused to rent out special trains to take the workers to Delhi pleading unavailability of rakes. The TMC claimed the denial of trains as well as cancellations of a flight to Delhi were part of an attempt by the ruling BJP party to scuttle its demonstration.
News18 had earlier reported that the party has named the protest ‘Fight for Right’. Abhishek Banerjee had declared on Friday he will participate in the party’s protest on October 3, effectively ignoring summons by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in connection with the school jobs scam in Kolkata on the same day.
The TMC general secretary has alleged that though the state government had sent verified lists of beneficiaries in December 2022, the Centre is yet to make payments.
“If anyone is found guilty of corruption in a 100-day work or housing scheme, let action be taken against them, but why is money to the beneficiaries stopped?” he asked.
The BJP has been asserting that the payments were stopped due to “irregularities”. BJP West Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar has also claimed that while TMC leaders were travelling by aeroplanes, the protesters were being made to take buses to Delhi.
“The way TMC leaders are enjoying the luxury of flights and pushed these innocent people to the brink of life risk is condemnable,” he posted on X (formerly Twitter).
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