Mamata, Suvendu battle out in North Bengal
The Hindu
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on December 12 held back-to-back rallies at Siliguri in north Bengal
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on December 12 held back-to-back rallies at Siliguri in north Bengal, raising political temperatures ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
The Chief Minister, addressing a government event at Kanchenjunga stadium, reiterated the demand for pending funds with the Centre and said that she was going to Delhi on December 17. According to sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given an appointment to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for a meeting on December 20.
She added that the Centre has stopped giving money for State projects, including schemes for minorities and widows. She also accused the BJP government at the Centre of withholding the State’s share of GST collection. “Earlier, the State used to earn by way of sales tax. Now, the entire tax amount goes to the Centre in the name of GST. West Bengal is yet to get its share,” the Trinamool Congress supremo said.
The public event also marked the completion of the Chief Minister’s seven-day visit to North Bengal. Ms. Banerjee in a public event at Jalpaiguri had said that Centre owes 1.15 lakh crore to the State of West Bengal.
The BJP had won all eight Lok Sabha seats in North Bengal in 2019 and the Chief Minister’s events were seen as her party’s outreach in the region before 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari also held a public meeting at Siliguri and accused the Trinamool Congress government of depriving North Bengal of its rightful dues.
Turning the popular adage “What Bengal thinks today, rest of the country thinks tomorrow” – on its head, Mr. Adhikari said that North Bengal had voted the Trinamool out in 2019 and given substantial seats to the BJP in 2021, the rest of the State will follow suit. Mr. Adhikari also held protests outside Uttarkanaya, the State’s administrative centre in North Bengal and said that he was not allowed to enter the building.
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