Trinamul’s second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee, in Jalpaiguri on Thursday, took a dig at the BJP's Lok Sabha poll slogan “Modi Ki Guarantee (Modi’s guarantee)", pitting it against “Didir Guarantee (the guarantee of chief minister and Trinamul chief Mamata Banerjee)".
“Modi’s guarantee has no warranty but Didi’s guarantee has a lifetime guarantee. The Prime Minister, other central ministers, and the BJP MPs who people had voted for in Bengal did nothing for them. Instead, they deprived lakhs of people from getting their due wages (under the 100 days' job scheme) and having their own house by halting funds of central welfare schemes,” Abhishek said at the public meeting at Town Club grounds in Mainaguri, Jalpaiguri.
Abhishek flew to Bagdogra from Calcutta to reach Mainaguri.
Earlier in the morning, Abhishek slammed an advertisement by the central government claiming that over five lakh crores have been provided to Bengal.
“The @BJP4India is squandering public funds to spread falsehoods. I challenge the BJP leadership to engage in a one-on-one debate with me and release white paper proving the allocation of even 1 paisa to progs like Awas Yojna & MGNREGA since their defeat in the 2021 WB elections,” the Trinamul leader posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The BJP state committee was quick to reply to the post.
“Pick time and place... and we will send one of our Yuva Morcha karyakartas to debate. For how, read this,” it posted, appending the advertisement.
Abhishek shot back on X: “Today 3pm at Maynaguri Town Club Ground. Pl come with the white paper on AWAS and MGNREGA. See you."
At Mainaguri, as Abhishek addressed an audience of around 25,000 people who had come from the districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar, he took up this war of words on X.
“I want to know whether anyone from the BJP has come here. I am ready to debate (on the issue of central funds). If no one has turned up, I challenge the Prime Minister to present a white paper to counter my claim,” the Diamond Harbour MP and national general secretary of Trinamul said.
He also furnished detailed information about the due wages of MGNREGS workers in some north Bengal districts.
Altogether, Abhishek said, around 11.29 lakh persons who worked in projects taken up under the central 100 days' job scheme in Cooch Behar, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri districts, didn’t get their wages.
This, in total, amounts to Rs 478 crore, he said.
The BJP had won all these three Lok Sabha seats in 2019. In fact, Trinamul had drawn a blank in all eight Lok Sabha seats in north Bengal.
“You voted for the BJP without putting your own rights as priority. The BJP MPs could win because of your votes and later stopped central funds. The Trinamul government of the state, on the other hand, met its promises one after another, ranging from the revision of tea wages to the creation of Dhupguri subdivision to the extension of irrigation facilities,” said Abhishek, who is also chief minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew, said.
In north Bengal, the ruling dispensation of Bengal has been consistently building pressure on the BJP over the past few months.
On one hand, Trinamul is aggressively playing the development card. On Wednesday, Mamata, at the Siliguri-based Uttarkanya, handed over land rights and dwelling units to over 1,000 people and inaugurated and initiated a slew of infrastructural projects worth around Rs 330 crore for Jalpaiguri district.
On the other hand, leaders like Abhishek Banerjee have been consistently flagging issues like the alleged non-performance of the BJP MPs and the unmet promises of central BJP leaders.
“This time, the people of north Bengal should vote to protect their own rights. The MPs here (of the BJP) didn’t do anything even in one booth of their respective constituencies. We (Trinamul) have, however, kept our promises and created the new Dhupguri subdivision. Let me now announce that the rural hospital in Dhupguri will be upgraded to a 100-bed sub-divisional hospital in three months,” the Trinamul MP added.
