Trinamool To Send 50 Lakh Letters To Centre Over Rural Jobs Scheme Dues To West Bengal

The Trinamool Congress will send more than 50 lakh letters from people denied MGNREGA benefits in West Bengal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the party's much-touted protests in New Delhi next month against the alleged withholding of funds by the Centre.

The party has accused the BJP-led NDA government of withholding Rs 15,000 crore of dues to Bengal under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Gramin Awas Yojana.

The party will also send letters to Union Panchayati Raj Minister Giriraj Singh.

"West Bengal stands united against the central government's injustice, determined to claim what's rightfully ours. People's power reigns supreme in democracy," TMC's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said on X, formerly Twitter.

People of Bengal are raising their voice against "injustice", and those adversely impacted have written letters to the PM, seeking their rightful dues", the party said on the microblogging site.

"We have people, who are yet to get their dues even after working under the MGNREGA, to write these letters. Till now, we have collected more than 50 lakh letters. They have all sought the release of dues to Bengal under the rural jobs scheme. We are sending these letters to the offices of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Giriraj Singh," a senior TMC leader said.

Abhishek Banerjee, the party's national general secretary, and TMC MPs, MLAs and leaders from the districts will pay their respects to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in the national capital on October 2 on his birth anniversary.

Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who was supposed to attend the programme in New Delhi, might not go there as she was advised ten days of rest by doctors after she suffered an injury on her left knee during a recent trip to Spain and Dubai.

A TMC delegation will meet Singh on October 3 and place before him the issue of "non-release of dues" under the MGNREGA, Bengal minister Chandrima Bhattacharya had said on September 23.

The TMC had planned to stage protests in New Delhi for dues under the rural jobs scheme to Bengal.

The ruling party in the state had claimed that despite several requests to the Delhi Police, it was denied permission to hold demonstrations in the national capital.

The TMC had, on August 30, said that it was denied permission to hold demonstrations in New Delhi as the BJP-led Union government wanted to "scuttle the voice of Bengal", a charge dubbed as "baseless" by the saffron camp.

During the TMC's Martyrs' Day rally on July 21, Abhishek Banerjee had announced that the party would launch a massive protest in Delhi on Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 against the alleged blocking of funds by the central government for Bengal under the MGNREGA and other schemes.

The chief minister held a two-day sit-in in March this year against the Centre's alleged move of "not releasing funds" to the state for MGNREGA and other welfare schemes.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 aims to enhance the livelihood security of households in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)