Expressing hope that the people of the State will re-elect the Trinamool Congress government, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said the BJP government at the Centre was the “most cruel and insensitive government” that she had ever come across.
“I have not seen such a cruel and insensitive government. There is a newfound love for Bengal because elections will be held here. They cannot think of anything except Bengal… That is the reason why they are adding Thakur to the name Swami Vivekananda and are going around saying Tagore was born in Santiniketan,” Ms. Banerjee said.
The Chief Minister, who was speaking in the Assembly on the last day during a discussion on the statement of accounts tabled by her on February 5, said the Budget was aimed at the people of the State. In the ₹2.99-lakh crore vote-on-accounts tabled in the Assembly, the State government also increased the allocation for the Krishak Bandhu scheme from ₹5,000 to ₹6,000 year.
Speaking a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the TMC government of not implementing the Central schemes particularly the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, Ms. Banerjee said her government had sent to the Centre the names of 2.5 lakh farmers eligible for benefits under the PM Kisan.
She said the State government had received a list of six lakh applicants from the Centre for verification, of which 2.5 lakh names have been sent for financial assistance. She sought to know why they had not received the benefits. According to the BJP, about 70 lakh farmers have not received seven instalments adding up to ₹14,000 under the scheme over one and half years.
Industrial projects
The Chief Minister also announced that her government will set up 19 industrial projects with an investment of ₹72,200 crore that will create 3.29 lakh employment opportunities. Later in the day, she also announced ₹1,000 pension to all retired sportspersons.
The State BJP leadership tried to ridicule the claims made by the Chief Minister on investment saying it was “not proposed but imagined investment”. The leaders of the Opposition Left and Congress parties boycotted the customary group photo saying they were not allowed to raise their voice in the House. “We were not allowed to speak on any issue,” Leader of the Opposition Abdul Mannan said, explaining the reason for the boycott.
