Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of meting out step-motherly treatment towards opposition-ruled West Bengal by "not releasing" the financial dues of the state.
Banerjee, the TMC national general secretary, also alleged that the Centre has not disbursed funds for West Bengal out of "vendetta" over its humiliating defeat in the last assembly polls.
The central government keeps treating West Bengal in a step-motherly manner and is yet to release dues for the 100-day work scheme. Around Rs 9,000 crore are due from the Centre. They had released funds for other states, except West Bengal. By not giving Bengal's share, the BJP is accepting the fact that they are miffed that Bengal didn't vote for them," he said.
Banerjee, while the foundation stone laying ceremony for a Water Supply Augmentation Project in Budge Budge, said instead of the BJP, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee follows the motto of "Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas" (With all, for everyone's development) slogan.
"As people of West Bengal defeated them in the assembly polls, they (BJP), out of vendetta politics, are trying to deprive the state of its due rights," he said.
While listing out various development projects that he implemented in his constituency, Banerjee, had a word of caution for middlemen who, according to him, try to stop development work for their vested interests.
"I had asked officials to finish work in a time-bound manner and monitored the progress. I had also instructed the police to take suo-motu cognizance against people creating hurdles for the water project.
"I believe no one is allowed to stop the progress of work. No one can come in between you and your MP," he said.
The two-time MP from Diamond Harbour constituency in South 24 Parganas district claimed that his constituency became a model for others in handling the COVID situation.
"During the COVID-19 pandemic, the positivity rate in Diamond Harbour was hovering around the 14 per cent-mark. Within two weeks, we brought down the ratio to two per cent. We conducted over 50,000 tests in a single day in Diamond Harbour," he said.
