Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who reached Sandeshkhali on Monday, urged beneficiaries of state government schemes not to pay money to anyone to get those benefits, but barely an hour before, in Birbhum, protesters who identified themselves as TMC workers alleged the “cut money factor” in the Banglar Bari scheme.

Mamata told people in Sandeshkhali that funds for projects come from the state’s exchequer and are directly deposited into the bank accounts of beneficiaries.

“I want to say to you clearly: do not give any paisa to anyone to obtain those schemes that we (the state government) have been offering. This is entirely the government’s money, and you are receiving it directly in your bank accounts. So, there is no need to pay anyone, even if someone asks you to do so,” Mamata told the audience in Sandeshkhali around 1.40pm
on Monday.

Some 307km away in Birbhum, around 12.45pm, a group of people with Trinamool party flags entered the chamber of the Rampurhat I block development officer, Ankur Mitra, alleging that houses under rural housing schemes had been distributed to some people in exchange for “cut money”.

As the Narendra Modi government withheld funds for Bengal under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana scheme, the Mamata Banerjee government decided to provide the entire ₹1.20 lakh to 12 lakh beneficiaries to build their houses solely from the state exchequer.

Mamata, who hailed her government’s initiative to provide dwelling units to the rural people who have been waiting for years, told the crowd in Sandeshkhali that her government would provide such dwelling units to the remaining 16 lakh beneficiaries in the next year-and-a-half.

Around 40 persons from Birbhum’s Ayas gram panchayat area, who stormed BDO Mitra’s office with complaints of irregularities in the rural housing scheme, and were involved in hot exchanges with the BDO, had a different story to tell.

“Many actual beneficiaries did not get houses under the scheme. The cut money was collected through BDO’s agents and allotted the houses to those who were ineligible. We demand that the district magistrate or our Didi (Mamata Banerjee) conduct an independent probe to find out how the actual beneficiaries have been deprived,” said Noor Mohammed, who called himself a Trinamool worker.

Protesters alleged that when they went to inform the BDO about their grievances, he allegedly threatened them.

BDO Mitra, when contacted by this correspondent, declined to comment on the allegations and the agitation inside his chamber.

Saurav Pandey, the SDO Rampurhat, said they would look into why such a law and order problem was created at the BDO’s office.

“Anyone can easily lodge complaints over any dispute. We will look into it if there are any official complaints (regarding charges of irregularities). But we will inquire why such a law and order situation was created. Police have also been informed about the incident.”

TMC leaders said those who agitated at the BDO office on Monday have no connection with the party.

“The party does not endorse the unruly act of those at the BDO office. Those who went there with party flags are not party workers. We will find out who was behind it,” said Nihar Mukherjee, TMC’s Rampurhat I block president, and a cousin of Mamata.

Still, the agitation came as an embarrassment for the ruling Trinamool in Birbhum. Mamata’s maternal uncle’s village, Kusumba, falls under this particular block. However, those who agitated at the BDO office are from a different gram panchayat area.

A section of TMC leaders claimed that the agitation resulted from the party’s infighting, accusing a local suspended party leader of orchestrating the incident to demean the party.

Opposition party leaders did not miss the opportunity to attack TMC overcorruption.

“Mamata Banerjee has been requesting people not to give money for government schemes becauseshe knew that her party workers take money for this purpose. That was again proven by what happened in Rampurhat I block today,” said BJP Birbhum presidentDhruba Saha.

Congress Birbhum president Milton Rashid said: “It is surprising that complaints of cut money are coming from a block that includes Mamata Banerjee’s place, on a day she is asking people not to givecut money.”