The Trinamool announced it will launch the "Griha Lakshmi" scheme in Goa if voted to power
The BJP today hit out at the Trinamool Congress over its promise to hand out Rs 5,000 a month to a woman member of a family in poll-bound Goa, accusing the Mamata Banerjee-led camp of giving "false assurance" to the people there for electoral gains.
The BJP also pointed out that the TMC, however, "did not say much about job generation" in the coastal state.
The TMC on Saturday announced that it will launch the "Griha Lakshmi" scheme in Goa if voted to power, much like Bengal's "Lakshmi Bhandar", under which one woman member of every family will receive income support of Rs 5,000 per month.
The Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari and BJP National Vice-President Dilip Ghosh wondered why the TMC was willing to give Rs 5,000 per month to the women of Goa when the party is doling out just Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 for the beneficiaries of Bengal.
"The promise of Rs 5,000 is a false one, made to bag votes in Goa. The TMC will never be able to fulfil it. The party will meet the same fate it did in Tripura. Also, where is this money coming from?
"Strangely, there was no word about generating employment opportunities or addressing livelihood issues of people," Dilip Ghosh told reporters.
The disparity in the amount promised by the TMC in the two states is "upsetting", Suvendu Adhikari said.
"The TMC that gives Rs 500 to 1,000 to our mothers in Bengal is willing to provide Rs 5,000 to every mother in Goa? Isn't it insulting for the womenfolk of Bengal?" he asked.
In a similar vein, CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said the "tall talk" by the TMC was aimed at garnering votes.
"Also, we oppose this dole politics of the TMC," he added.
The state spokesperson of the TMC, Kunal Ghosh, claimed that the BJP was "jealous" of his party's popularity in the western state.
"We don't give false assurances. The promises made by the TMC in Bengal are being fulfilled by the party. The BJP is jealous of TMC's growing popularity in Goa," he added.