North Bengal Storm Reignites Trinamool Vs BJP Spat
NDTV
The trigger to the political battle was Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's immediate visit to the area. The BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, who also rushed to the area, attacked her, alleging that her visit was only meant for a photo-op.
Bengal's northern region will be the first to vote on April 19 as the general elections begin in the country. But weeks before the election, a massive storm has hit the region, blowing away homes and disrupting thousands of lives. Locals say there has been a delay in relief -- a responsibility that lies with the local administration now that the Model Code of Conduct has been announced.
A political war has now started over the issue between the BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress.
The Trinamool has argued that the loss would have been limited if the BJP had not withheld funds for building homes. "If the people got funds under the Awas Yojana at the right time, maybe many of them would have had the shelter of pucca homes," said Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh."The BJP-run central government has deliberately not given funds under the 100-day job guarantee scheme and Awas Yojana and this is the result of that," he added.
