Abdur Rahim Boxi, the Malda district president of the Trinamul Congress, has asked supporters and workers of other political parties to return immediately their ration cards and health insurance cards provided by the state government, asserting that they have no right to avail themselves of the benefits of social security schemes run by the Mamata Banerjee administration.

He asked Trinamul workers to “socially boycott” those who had defected to other parties from Trinamul in the recent past.

“Leaders and workers of other parties are verbally abusing the state government and our party and addressing them as thieves. They are even making derogatory comments against the chief minister. I want these people to denounce the health insurance and the rations provided by the government that they have been hitting at. They have no right to avail themselves of the benefits of these schemes launched by a state government that they criticiserelentlessly,” Boxi, who is also a Trinamul MLA, said on Tuesday.

He was addressing a public meeting at Jadupur in Kaliachak 1 block.

The meeting was called in response to the Congress's April 2 meeting at the same venue where a number of Trinamul workers had joined the party.

Boxi, a former RSP MLA, joined Trinamul in 2020 and was elected as a Trinamul MLA in 2021.

“Recently, some people left our party after enjoying all privileges for 10 years. They joined the Congress and other parties. Our workers and supporters should socially boycott these people,” he said.

Such remarks by Trinamul’s district chief in Malda have led to reactions from other parties.

Congress leaders, while speaking on his comments, said Boxi is upset because, in Malda, a minority-dominated district, people are walking out of Trinamul in a consistent manner.

“He is making unconstitutional comments and seems to be suffering from political insecurity like many other Trinamul leaders as people are deserting their party. If any attempt is made to deprive even a single person of benefits of health insurance and ration or anybody faces social boycott in the district, we will take legal steps against him,” said Isha Khan Choudhury, a general secretary of Congress in Malda.