Trinamool’s long march to Delhi signals a new politics of protest

Over 50 buses carrying thousands of beneficiaries of Centre's flagship schemes left Kolkata for Delhi to protest Union govt's denial of funds.

Over 50 buses carrying thousands of beneficiaries of the Centre’s flagship schemes for rural jobs and housing left Kolkata for the national capital on Saturday, to protest the Union governent’s “denial of funds” for these welfare schemes in West Bengal. 

Beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) began trickling into Kolkata from remote parts of the State in groups of 10 or 12, as early as September 28, hoping to take a train to Delhi from Kolkata. But late on September 29, with the the Eastern Railway denying the Trinamool Congress’ request for a special train, the gathered people had little option but to travel by bus.

“I am a little scared, but we will have to go to Delhi for our rights. The 100 days work is essential for our survival,” said Bullet Mahato from Ranibandh panchayat. Along with a group of 11 others, Mr. Mahato had come to the Netaji Indoor Stadium in the early hours of September 21.

All the beneficiaries from Holudkanai village in Ranibandh have worked under MGNREGA scheme in December 2021, but are yet to get paid for their work. They said that since December 2021, the scheme has come to a halt, which means that each family member is missing out on about ₹8,000 to ₹10,000 of earnings per year.

Another group of beneficiaries who arrived at Kolkata’s Netaji Indoor stadium from Goalpokhar in the Uttar Dinajpur district of northern Bengal said that more people have become dependent on agricultural labour after the freezing of funds for MGNREGA.

“We don’t know who is responsible for the stoppage of funds. All we could say is that we are under distress,” Majibur Rahaman from the Malkunda gram panchayat said.

Thousands had gathered at the stadium by the afternoon of September 29. Some carried flags of the ruling Trinamool Congress, tucked carefully into their luggage. The TMC’s leaders, including party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh, and State Ministers Sashi Panja and Partha Bhowmick came to the auditorium and addressed the media. After the special train was denied, TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee also arrived at the venue and met the gathered people.