Trinamul Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Monday tossed a challenge at state BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar on the latter’s home turf to prove that the Narendra Modi government at the Centre had provided funds for certain social welfare schemes since 2021.

Abhishek reached Gangarampur in South Dinajpur on Monday to address a public meeting in support of Biplab Maitra and Krishna Kalyani whom the party fielded in Balurghat and Raiganj seats, respectively.

South Dinajpur is Majumdar’s home district and he is the BJP nominee in Balurghat where he won in 2019.

In Raiganj, BJP’s Debasree Chaudhuri won in 2019 but the party is yet to announce the nominee for the seat.

“In Mainaguri, I had tossed a challenge to the Prime Minister and BJP leaders (on March 14) to publish a white paper to prove that the Centre had provided funds for the housing scheme and the 100-day rural employment guarantee scheme. To date, none of them has accepted the challenge. Here, I openly challenge Sukanta Majumdar to show the details to prove that I am wrong,” said the Trinamul MP.

With the Lok Sabha elections drawing near, Trinamul is intensifying its campaign in north Bengal, from where the BJP had won seven of eight seats in 2019.

“Those who don’t read or write Bengali can’t give any guarantee to the people of Bengal. It is Mamata Banerjee who gives the guarantee. In the elections, we want people across the state to vote for our candidates. Within the next two years, Mamata Banerjee will ensure that eligible people got houses,” he added.

Abhishek, Trinamul’s national general secretary and the Diamond Harbour MP, had on March 14 alleged that no funds had been provided for the housing scheme in three fiscals since 2021.

“If we don’t meet the promise (of providing houses to the poor), you have the option to give a second thought in 2026 (when the Assembly elections will be held). There are two options before you. Either, you have to bow down before the BJP for your rights, or else, you have to politically uproot the party from the state,” he said at Gangarampur on Monday.

Abhishek instructed Trinamul workers and supporters to reach out to at least 20 people in their areas and reiterate what he had said in his address.

The Trinamul leader also scoffed at Raiganj MP Chaudhuri and said she hadn’t been seen in the constituency after the election in 2019.

“You voted for them and they acted against people’s interests by halting central funds which lakhs of beneficiaries were supposed to receive. In Raiganj, people have not seen the MP after her win. In fact, leaders of her own party are aggrieved with her,” said Abhishek.

Reacting to Abhishek’s charges, BJP leaders said there had been major developments in connectivity in North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur districts in the past 10 years.

“The MP has always worked for the residents of Raiganj Parliament seat. Ahead of the elections, Abhishek Banerjee is resorting to gimmicks, knowing well that his party will end up with a miserable performance here,” said Basudeb Sarkar, the North Dinajpur district BJP chief.

Bapi Sarkar, a district secretary of the BJP in South Dinajpur, said Sukanta Majumdar has taken a number of initiatives for the district.

“We will apprise the voters of the data related to the central funds during the campaign to prove that Trinamul is making a wrong claim,” he said.