Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said the Trinamool Congress would intensify its voice against the BJP-led Centre inside and outside Parliament to demand funds for several central schemes held up for the past couple of years.
“The battle against the Centre in Bengal will intensify... I will demand that the dues of all states should be released immediately. We should not be considered weak now. We are strong enough,” said Mamata after a meeting with her party’s newly elected MPs, defeated candidates and other leaders at her Kalighat residence on Saturday.
Sources in the TMC said Mamata realised that the fight to demand central funds under schemes like the 100-days’ job and rural housing had given Trinamool an edge in the recent Lok Sabha polls.
After the Centre froze funds to Bengal under schemes like MGNREGA in December 2021, citing irregularities, the TMC led by its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee launched a massive movement against the Narendra Modi government.
Agitations were staged in Delhi and Calcutta. In Delhi, several TMC MPs were detained when they went to meet the minister of state for rural development, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, in her office at Krishi Bhavan in October 2023. In February this year, the Bengal government released ₹2,800 crore from its coffers to pay 59 lakh MGNREGA job card holders.
“This worked in our favour during the election campaign. The chief minister wants to carry this forward to keep the BJP under pressure ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls. Moreover, it is clear that the chief minister does not want to allow complacency to set in among party workers ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls,” said a Trinamool insider.
Sources in the state administration also said with the strength of 29 MPs, the ruling party wants to put pressure on the BJP which doesn’t have a majority on its own in Parliament.
“The chief minister has promised to run the 100 days’ job and the rural housing schemes from the state exchequer in case the Centre did not release funds. But to run these schemes, the state will require at least ₹18,000 crore. So, putting the pressure on the weak BJP-led Centre is an excellent strategy,” a Trinamool insider said.
This apart, the TMC MPs would take the battle to Parliament on issues like unemployment and price rise, Mamata said.
“These are the issues that have left people in trouble... Our MPs will fight against the Centre on these issues in Parliament,” said Mamata.
She said a TMC delegation, including party’s Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O’Brien, Dola Sen and Sagarika Ghosh, would visit Haryana to express solidarity with farmers agitating for a better minimum support price for their produce.
