Supreme Court order on MGNREGA 'supreme blow' to Centre, victory for poor people of Bengal: TMC

Kolkata: The TMC on Tuesday termed the Supreme Court order refusing to interfere with the Calcutta High Court's directive on resuming MGNREGA in West Bengal as a "supreme blow" to the BJP-led central government and a "major victory for the poor and deprived" beneficiaries of the state.

The apex court on Monday dismissed the Centre's plea challenging the high court's June 18 order which mandated prospective implementation of the 100-day job guarantee scheme in West Bengal from August 1 this year. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta observed that there was "no reason to interfere" in the ruling.

Addressing a press conference at the Trinamool Bhavan, state Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Pradip Mazumdar said the verdict vindicated the ruling party's stand that the BJP had engaged in "illegal, unethical and politically motivated deprivation" of West Bengal's workers.

"Nearly 2.58 crore job card holders of West Bengal will now be saved from the BJP's political vengeance. For three years, the BJP government acted against the poor people of our state. This Supreme Court verdict is a big blow to the Centre's anti-Bengal politics," he said.

Mazumdar alleged that despite repeated reminders, information sharing and compliance with guidelines, the Centre halted funds to punish West Bengal after its 2021 electoral defeat.

"We have always believed that the government must function within the law. But gradually we realised this deprivation was politically driven and unlawful," he said.

He claimed that 14 central teams and 33 national-level monitoring teams visited 19 districts over several years, all headed by senior officials, and concluded that around Rs 6.03 crore was "not conventionally used" between 2016-17 and 2021-22. The national team also mentioned another Rs 26 lakh in "non-standard usage".

"But for this combined Rs 6.29 crore, the Centre froze funds and man-days for three years. Had they not done so, the poor would have received Rs 50.44 crore more," he said.

Pointing to alleged double standards, Mazumdar said in Uttar Pradesh, where social audits flagged misappropriation of nearly Rs 49 crore between 2021-22 and 2023-24, and in Maharashtra (Rs 15.20 crore) and Bihar (Rs 17.76 crore), no restriction was not imposed and funding continued.

"In Gujarat, Rs 71 crore was misused and even the rural development minister's son was jailed, yet no central team went there. But when it comes to West Bengal, deprivation was the only aim. The BJP wanted to starve West Bengal into submission," he said.

Mazumdar also targeted the Centre over Aadhaar-linked job card deletion.

"In West Bengal, Aadhaar seeding is 99.8 per cent. We deleted only 33 lakh cards since inception, while Uttar Pradesh deleted 1.38 crore cards. But it is West Bengal that gets accused of irregularities," he said.

The minister said the state government even stepped in to pay wages from its own coffers to shield workers from hardship.

"We are not begging anyone. We only want justice. And if justice is delayed again, the people of West Bengal will answer in 2026," he added.

TMC MP Pratima Mondal said the verdict exposed the BJP's "anti-poor mindset".

"Having been repeatedly rejected in West Bengal, the BJP sought revenge by stopping wages of the poorest. We held peaceful protests in Delhi, we submitted documents, we raised our voice, yet they continued to deprive our state," she said.

Referring to the party's 2023 protest march in Delhi, she said, "Even the then Panchayat Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti ran away through the backdoor. Families who lost children due to lack of housing funds were with us. Why were they assaulted?" State minister Birbaha Hansda recalled how a planned protest trip to Delhi was obstructed by cancellation of transport.

"They can stop trains and buses, but they cannot stop the people's movement. The BJP government only serves the rich and privileged. The Supreme Court verdict reaffirms that truth ultimately triumphs," she said.

Hansda said the 2026 assembly election will see the poor "give their verdict".

"The people sitting in Delhi's AC rooms don't know the pain of the poor. But our CM takes government services to people's doorsteps through 'Duare Sarkar'. This victory belongs to the struggling people of West Bengal," she added.

The Calcutta High Court had earlier allowed the Centre to continue its inquiry into alleged irregularities while directing prospective implementation of the scheme in view of its prolonged suspension in the state.

It said the Centre could impose special conditions to ensure proper execution of the scheme in West Bengal.