Kolkata: Amid a row between the West Bengal government and the Centre over payment of dues, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday announced that at least 21 lakh workers will receive their pending wages by February 21. This comes as Banerjee held a dharna demanding West Bengal's dues from the Centre for various social welfare schemes.
The West Bengal CM's dharna, which began on Friday afternoon, continued overnight amid the cold, following which she went for a walk on Saturday morning. The demonstration began in front of the BR Ambedkar's statue in the Maidan area of Kolkata as Banerjee was accompanied by state ministers Firhad Hakim and Aroop Biswas among others.
"By February 21, we will transfer money to bank accounts of 21 lakh unpaid MGNREGA workers in West Bengal." said Mamata Banerjee on Saturday.
In the morning, she went on a walk at the nearby Red Road, and also visited a basketball ground. "The area was engulfed by a thick blanket of fog, and Banerjee went for the morning walk amid that along with her security personnel. Seeing a few players at a basketball ground, she stopped and spoke to them. She tried to understand the sport and the ball used in it," said a TMC leader, who accompanied her.
Banerjee claims that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre owes the state thousands of crores of rupees on account of various welfare schemes, including the MGNREGA and the PM Awas Yojana. Her dharna is set to continue for 48 hours till Sunday, as the state's budget session begins on Monday.
The Chief Minister had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December to address the longstanding issue of pending dues to the state. Ahead of Friday's rally, BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya dismissed the allegations against the Centre as baseless. "It is the state government which has stopped providing details regarding the use of central funds and has not submitted utilisation certificates, which is why the funds have been halted," Bhattacharya said.
(with inputs from PTI)
