Bengal
Mamata Banerjee announces Bengal govt will pay MGNREGA workers' dues
Kolkata/IBNS: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday announced her government will clear the payments- allegedly held by the Centre- of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) workers (who work under the 100-day work scheme), in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Mamata, who has been holding a dharna in downtown Kolkata against the Centre's withholding of the payments, announced she will transfer the money to the respective bank accounts on February 21.
The Chief Minister's announcement left the crowd burst into loud cheer on the second day of her 48-hour dharna at Red Road, Kolkata.
Mamata has been relentless in raising the issue of dues in cornering the Modi government, which is aiming to return to power for the third straight term in 2024 summer.
"We do not want to beg. We will clear the dues of all workers under the 100-day work scheme. The state government will bank transfer the money on February 21," the Trinamool Congress supremo said.
In an attack on the BJP, which had won 18 of 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 giving a jolt to TMC, Mamata on Saturday said the BJP will be defeated if all parties- national and regional- fight together.
"No one stays in power forever. BJP will be no exception," she said with confidence.
In the course of her dharna, Mamata lashed out at the Congress for trying to dominate the INDIA alliance, which she has already opted out of in West Bengal.
"I proposed that Congress contest 300 seats (across the country where BJP is the main opposition), but they refused to heed. Now, they've arrived in the state to stir up Muslim voters. I doubt whether they will secure even 40 seats if they contest 300," Mamata said on Friday.
"We were open to an alliance, offering them two seats, which they rejected. Now let them contest in all 42 seats alone. Since then, there has been no dialogue between us. We will fight alone and defeat the BJP in Bengal," she added.
The INDIA alliance has almost been reduced to dust as not just Mamata's TMC but the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) too has announced it will go solo in Punjab in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The nail in the coffin perhaps came after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar- one of the key architects of the alliance- quit the Grand Alliance and rejoined BJP.
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