Ahead of PM's Bengal visit, TMC claims Centre withholding funds for state

New Delhi: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress on Thursday accused the Centre of withholding funds worth over Rs 1.7 lakh crore for the state.

Modi will lay the foundation stone of a gas distribution project and address a rally in Alipurduar on Thursday.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming to Bengal today. We extend our welcome to the prime minister. But we also want to remind the prime minister that Rs 1.7 lakh crore is still owed to Bengal by the central government," TMC's deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Sagarika Ghose said in a video message.

She said, "Will the prime minister tell the people of Bengal when this money is going to be given to Bengal and why this money is being denied?" The TMC leader accused the Centre of discriminating against states ruled by non-NDA parties.

"Mr Narendra Modi is like a migratory bird. He comes to Bengal only when elections are in the air.

"But Mr Narendra Modi repeatedly discriminates between BJP-ruled states and opposition-ruled states. Mr Narendra Modi repeatedly discriminates against the people of Bengal. We urge the prime minister to stop this discrimination because the people of Bengal are very aware," she said.

West Bengal goes to polls next year.

In a post on X, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale alleged that Bengal was being deprived since his party defeated the BJP in the last state polls.

"The migratory bird is flying to Bengal today as elections are next year. The people of Bengal have faced nothing but deprivation at the hands of the Modi government since 2021 after we, AITC, defeated his party BJP," Gokhale said.

"Our CM has given relief to the people of Bengal from state funds despite the Union government illegally withholding our dues.

"When are you releasing the pending dues of the people of Bengal? Public funds are not your personal bank account that you can stop paying at your will," he said.

Gokhale demanded that the Centre release a white paper listing how much money has been given to Bengal under schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana since 2021.

According to the Rural Development Ministry, release of funds to West Bengal under MGNREGS has been stopped since March 9, 2022, under Section 27 of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, due to non-compliance with directions of the central government.

The department-related parliamentary panel on Rural Development Ministry said in a recent report that the continued suspension of funds for West Bengal under MGNREGS and other schemes has led to "severe consequences", including a sharp increase in distress migration and disruptions in rural development initiatives.