Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday mounted a scathing attack on the Mamata Banerjee government and Trinamul national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee over the latter’s announcement to raise funds from party workers to provide financial assistance to 70,000 elderly people not getting old-age pensions in the Diamond Harbour constituency.

“Bhaipo’s ‘Diamond Harbour Model’ exposes Pishi’s deceitful Duare Sarkar initiative !!! Applicants of the Old Age Pension scheme were forced to stand in the queues of back to back Duare Sarkar Camps, but they didn’t receive Pensions. Bhaipo bursts the “Duare Sarkar” Balloon !,” Adhikari wrote on his X handle.

Abhishek on Friday, from a programme to distribute Puja gifts among people in his constituency’s Falta, announced that he had decided that Trinamul workers would raise funds to provide old-age pensions to those not getting the benefit from the state government because of some technical issues.

“I give my word today from that in Diamond Harbour, we will take help from Trinamul workers here and provide financial assistance to these 70,000 elderly residents from January 1, next year. We will help them every month,” Abhishek told the audience in South 24-Parganas district's Falta on Friday.

Though the Diamond Harbour MP did not specify any amount of money, Adhikari estimated an amount to be paid to 70,000 people of Diamond Harbour to mount an attack on Abhishek over the alleged corruption in Bengal.

“By the way, even if Rs. 500 is paid to 70,000 people, the amount remitted would be Rs. 3,50,00,000/- (Three & a half crores) per month. Compared to the amount amassed, it’s peanuts,” the BJP's Nandigram MLA wrote on his X social media handle.

“Already perturbed by the constant hounding by the investigating agencies, someone has decided to fork out the accumulated proceeds from Coal & cow smuggling, Teacher Recruitment Scam & Ration Distribution Scam. If a small portion can be handed over to 70 thousand beneficiaries for a few months before the Lok Sabha elections, it would be like using proceeds of crime to influence the electorate. Double bonanza !” the BJP leader added.

Adhikari claimed that the old-age pension of around 12,000,65 people was pending in Bengal.

Trinamul reacted sharply to Adhikari's attack.

“LoP@SuvenduWB why not look into the growing factionalism within your own Party and then worry about others? And since you have such good relations with those ruling at the Centre, then why not ask them to release dues of 21+ lakh poor workers of Bengal?” Trinamul state general secretary Kunal Ghosh shot back.