Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and his team on Friday continued their ‘dharna’ outside the Raj Bhawan in Kolkata, refusing to budge till Governor CV Ananda Bose meets them over the MGNREGS funds row.
The TMC wants to take the issue of Centre’s alleged indifference to the Lok Sabha and on Thursday, Banerjee and other party workers marched to Raj Bhawan to meet Bose and discuss the issue.
However, the party claimed that the Governor asked them to come to North Bengal — where he was assessing the flood situation — in two hours, which was not possible, before leaving for Delhi.
An irate Banerjee then sat on ‘dharna’ outside Bose’s residence and refused to move till a meeting was arranged. A 25-member delegation (15 TMC leaders and 10 from the affected families) also handed over letters to the police and administrative staff, detailing how the paucity of funds had hit their lives.
“We follow the ideals of our leader Mamata Banerjee. I want to ask the Governor to send the letters to Delhi and ask the Centre if 20 lakh people were not employed under MGNREGA. If they were, under what law has payment been stopped to them? People who have come to the rally may go back but I and other TMC leaders will not leave till the Governor meets us.”
The TMC vs BJP fight took centre stage in Delhi this week as Banerjee and BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari came to the Capital to meet MoS Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti. The day, however, ended in chaos as the TMC alleged that its leaders were manhandled by the police and unable to meet the minister. The BJP, meanwhile, termed it a drama by the state party.
What is the Governor’s Stand?
Raj Bhawan sources told News18 that “refusing to go to ‘zameen’ and controlling farmers from cosy city palaces is neo-zamindari. Maati (soil) is sacred for the Governor and so are the Maanush (people) who live by the Maati”.
They added that going to villages means going to the grassroots which, in Bengali, means Trinamool. “It is news that the Trinamool wants others to keep off Trinamool. What does it fear?” they asked, explaining the rationale behind Bose visiting flood-hit areas.
Taking a dig at Bose, minister of irrigation and waterways Partha Bhowmick said the former was going to flood-affected areas as a tourist.
In response, Bose said: “Yes, I will tour the places where my people suffer. I wish the ministers were also here, at least as tourists. He is minister of waterways. If he had come to the field, he would have realised that roadways have become waterways.”
The Governor also “agreed” with the TMC’s assertion that he “flew away” when the delegation came to Raj Bhawan. “Yes, when I heard my people were suffering, I took a flight and reached them as fast as I could. In a way, I flew away.”
On the ground, Trinamool workers showed black flags to Bose and shouted ‘Go Back’ slogans. The Governor, however, took them in his stride and said: “They are only expressing solidarity with me. I am going back. Moreover, they are right. A Governor should not stay permanently in the circuit house. There is absolute agreement between us in all aspects. Sabko Sanmati De Bhagwan.”
On TMC workers ‘gheraoing’ Raj Bhawan, Bose quipped: ‘Gherao Nahi, Ghar Aao (Don’t protest, come home instead’.
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