Union minister of state for panchayati raj Kapil Moreshwar Patil faced protests from villagers in Malda on Wednesday in two places while on a tour to inspect the implementation of central government welfare schemes.

The BJP alleged that the protest was orchestrated by Trinamul. Trinamul leaders termed them “spontaneous demonstrations against the Centre’s deprivations”.

Patil, accompanied by two Malda BJP MLAs Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury and Gopal Chandra Saha, reached Bhutni islet’s Uttar Chandipur panchayat office where he attended a meeting with panchayat members and some block officials.

Soon, a mob gathered outside the panchayat office and started sloganeering against the Centre for its alleged apathy in addressing river erosion, a major issue in Malda district.

Protesters waved black flags, claiming Patil’s visit to the islet had a “political purpose” ahead of the upcoming rural polls.

“The central government should release funds for MGNREGS and help erosion victims who have lost their land and houses in the Ganga. Thousands of people are suffering because of the Centre’s apathy,” said a protester.

Protests continued for around 40 minutes, even as Patil came out of the office and headed for Hiranandapur, another locality in the islet.

On reaching there, as he spoke with some residents, another group of villagers stood together and shouted slogans against the Centre while flagging the erosion issue.

The minister, when asked about the allegations of the villagers that the Centre wasn’t doing enough to prevent erosion, passed the buck to the state.

“Prevention of erosion is the responsibility of the state government. If any help from the central government is necessary, the state should write to us. That is the procedure,” he said.

Patil, who reached Malda on Tuesday, on Wednesday started his tour with Bhutni, the largest islet in the Ganga under Manikchak block to interact with residents on whether they received benefits from central schemes Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), 100-day job scheme (MGNREGS) and others.

Ahead of his visit, BJP leaders of Manikchak had pulled out all stops to ensure a good crowd at Uttar Chandipur BP High School and Bhutni Chandipur High School grounds.

As he reached there, many villagers alleged they did not get facilities of central schemes. They claimed that despite being eligible for PMAY, their names were not included in the list of beneficiaries.

The minister collected their PMAY application forms and promised to look into the issue.

“We did everything to get enlisted to PMAY but our names were not included. When BJP leaders told us that the central minister would be visiting us, we felt we should approach him,” said resident Sanaka Mondal.

District BJP leaders blatantly accused Trinamul of organising the protests. Gour Chandra Mandal, general secretary of South Malda organisational district of BJP, said: “Trinamul resorted to such acts to hide corruption in the panchayats.”

Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, a state secretary of Trinamul, however, said villagers expressed their grudge before Patil because the Centre was depriving them.

“BJP leaders should understand that people are disgruntled at the central government’s decision to halt funds for MGNREGS and for not providing any aid to check erosion,” he said.