Ahead of Bengal polls, Mamata Banerjee rolls out highly subsidised Ma Kitchen

At Ma Kitchen, people will be provided one full plate of rice, cooked vegetables, dal and an egg at just Rs. five. 

Inaugurating Ma Kitchen, Banerjee said, "We used to give people free ration. But there are a lot of poor people who want to eat cooked food but do not get opportunities while working outside.

"So we are rolling out initially in cities and slowly Ma Kitchen will be spread across the state.... People will get meals at Rs. five while the government will give a subsidy of Rs. 15. It is a unique idea."

The kitchen will run from 1 pm to 3 pm, informed the Chief Minister.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called it an election stunt, the Left and Congress raised questions over the funding.

"The people of Bengal don't have money to buy food to eat. That's why she has to run Maa Canteen so that people get food at Rs. 5. She has proved she has failed. People have become beggars and she has to feed people at Rs. 5," BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said.

Taking CPI-M MLA Sujan Chakraborty in confidence, Congress lawmaker and opposition leader in the assembly, Abdul Mannan, said, "It is a good thing if poor people are getting food but there is no clarity over how much money would be spent and who would be the beneficiaries.

"This is again a way of looting poor people's money."

Ma Kitchen was initially started during the Covid-19 lockdown in some areas, obviously following the footsteps of Sramajibi Canteen organised by the CPI-M during the nationwide shutdown.  

Banerjee's Ma Kitchen, which resembles Indira Canteen in Karnataka or Amma Canteen in Tamil Nadu, is the latest scheme for poor after Duare Sarkar (government at doorstep), Parae Parae Samadhan (solution of problems in bylanes) or extension of health scheme Swastha Sathi to all people of the state.