Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday again raised her demand for the release of central funds due to Bengal, frozen for years by the Narendra Modi government, three days ahead of a meeting scheduled with him in Delhi on this issue.
The meeting will be the fourth such between them in the past couple of years.
The Trinamul Congress chief, who left for Delhi on Sunday with her nephew and Trinamul national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, said at the Calcutta airport that Modi had given her an appointment for 11am on Wednesday and that she would send his office a list of her party MPs who would accompany her at the proposed meeting.
“Bengal’s (MGNREGS) funds have been blocked, and nothing was allocated the last time. Bengal is the only state to be deprived. The (housing for the poor) programme, the money for that too has been stopped... for rural roads too,” said Mamata at the airport here.
Mamata has repeatedly questioned the Centre’s inertia over the release of funds to the tune of Rs 1.15 lakh crore, including over Rs 15,000 crore under MGNREGS and the Awas Yojana alone, due to Bengal that have remained frozen for years.
She has even coined the slogan, “Taka din, noytoh bidaay nin (Pay up, or bid adieu)”, against the Centre.
“These are central schemes, but the Centre does not pay for everything. The money is shared by the Centre and the state. We give our share, they give theirs. That too from the money taken away in the form of taxes from here,” said Mamata, who is scheduled to attend a meeting of the INDIA bloc on Tuesday.
On Monday, she said she would meet her party’s MPs in the afternoon, besides journalists who cover her party as a beat there. Later on Monday, she might meet some political leaders from like-minded parties.
Mamata went on to slam the BJP over the Centre’s alleged diktat to have things painted saffron.
“Health department funds are being stopped with the diktat of saffron paint. Why? Our state has its own brand of colours, blue and white, not a political party’s colour. You can see Metro stations all being painted saffron,” she said.
“I am surprised, the army that we are so proud of… I saw in Sukna (which has an army base) this time that all the houses have been painted saffron. These cannot be an excuse,” added the chief minister. “Every place must have the BJP’s logo and paint in BJP colours?”
“People will have no independence?” asked Mamata, accusing the BJP of a plot to mess with the minds of people.
“They will decide what people will eat, wear? The syllabus and such things will be peppered with anything they please?” Mamata asked. “To disturb, perturb the heads of people, this is all a planned conspiracy. We certainly will raise our voices against that, as we have been doing. These things too will surely be part of what I say (in Delhi).”
Asked about the INDIA meeting, she did not want to reveal details of the agenda, including seat-sharing, which she has been pushing for.
Mamata, according to sources in her party, would push further for the "1:1 formula", only one INDIA candidate with the highest winnability in at least 330 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress is in a direct fight with the BJP in 200-odd seats.
“I am not saying anything now. Let us discuss the matter, then I will let you know,” she said.
