Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Monday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the inauguration of the new Parliament building and said while crores of rupees are being spent on its construction, the union government has withheld funds under the 100-day rural employment guarantee scheme for Bengal. Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building on Sunday even as around 20 opposition parties, including the TMC, boycotted the event, alleging that President Droupadi Murmu has been denied the right to inaugurate the building and called it an insult to India's first woman president from the tribal community.

"They have built a new parliament building by spending crores of rupees. The Centre is also spending crores of rupees on the Central Vista project. Whereas they have kept Rs 7,500 crores pending for the 100 days MGNREGA scheme in the State," Abhishek said.

The new parliament building was completed in about two-and-a-half years at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 1,200 crore.

The TMC leader said he never had any issues in sitting in the old parliament.

"As an MP, I never had any problem sitting in the old parliament building. The parliament is in session for nearly 40 days a year, and around 800 MPs are members of either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. yet they are spending crores of rupees on new buildings," he said.

The TMC national general secretary alleged the Centre, has stopped the funds due to Bengal at the instance of the ruling BJP party.

"They are depriving the poor people of West Bengal by denying MGNREGA funds to Bengal. It (BJP) is trying to punish the State's people for their defeat in the last assembly poll in 2021," he said while addressing a rally in the Debra area in Paschim Midnapur district.

Banerjee was addressing the rally as part of the 'Trinamool-eh Nabajowar' (new wave in Trinamool) mass outreach campaign.

His remark drew sharp reactions from the BJP, which dubbed the allegations baseless.

"The TMC has a habit of levelling baseless allegations. The funds have been stopped as the state government has not submitted funds utilization certificates," BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said. PTI PNT JRC JRC

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