After Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee declared that his party’s members would raise money to provide old-age pensions for those in his Diamond Harbour constituency who are not receiving them from the state government, a verbal spat broke out between the parties.
Speaking at a Durga puja event in the Falta area in his constituency, Banerjee said, ‘In Diamond Harbour, we will take help from Trinamool (TMC) workers and provide financial assistance to these 70,000 elderly residents from January 1, next year. The state government will give when it can but we will start the initiative for Diamond Harbour from January 1.’
In response to Abhishek Banerjee’s announcement, the BJP sharply criticised the TMC-led West Bengal government’s governance structure.
The TMC MP’s revelation, according to West Bengal state Assembly Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari, demonstrated the failure of the state government’s programmes in practise.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Adhikari said, ‘Bhaipo’s (Abhishek Banerjee) ‘Diamond Harbour Model’ exposes Pishi’s (Mamata Banerjee) deceitful Duare Sarkar initiative !!! Applicants of the old age pension scheme were forced to stand in the queues of back-to-back Duare Sarkar Camps, but they didn’t receive Pensions. Bhaipo bursts the ‘Duare Sarkar’ Balloon!’
The BJP representative stated in his tweet that although over 12 lakh people applied for the old-age pension system, many of them were not included in the monthly scheme. Additionally, he stated that the state receives its pension payment from the federal government.
‘As of now, the total number of pending applications for getting enrolled in the Old Age Pension scheme in the State of West Bengal is 12,000,65 (Twelve Lakhs and sixty five). The pension amount is provided by the Central Government. Mamata Banerjee has somehow wielded her influence on the Kolkata Office of the National Informatics Centre (NIC),’ Adhikari said.
‘On Monday I will complain about the same to Hon’ble Union Minister of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology; Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw Ji. A large number of people of West Bengal, who have applied for the Old Age Pension scheme have been left in the lurch by the manipulative WB Govt,’ he added.
In response to the BJP leader’s accusations, the TMC further said that he should use his ‘good relations’ with the Central government to get the funding that the West Bengal government has been holding up.
‘LoP ( Suvendu Adhikari) why not look into the growing factionalism within your own Party (BJP) and then worry about others? And since you have such good relations with those ruling at the Centre, then why not ask them to release dues of 21+ lakh poor workers of Bengal?’ TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh wrote on X in response to Adhikari’s comments.
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