BJP fires data back at Abhishek Banerjee: 'Rs 13,000 cr allocated for rail project in Bengal, TMC unable to allot land'

Hours after Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee claimed the Centre gave no money to West Bengal in the last three years, BJP's Saumitra Khan hit back at the TMC MP, saying his government in the state renamed all central schemes. He said the Centre allocated Rs 13,000 crores to Bengal for a rail project but the TMC government was unable to allot land for it. "The biggest dacoit speaks the thieves' language. He is a dacoit, so whose language will he speak? They rename the Central Government's schemes...They don't even give an account for Central funds," Khan, BJP MP from Bishnupur, said while speaking to news agency ANI. 

BJP's Suvendu Adhikari also shared data, countering Abhishek Banerjee's claims on the budget allocation to Bengal. He shared the allocation figure for this year for West Bengal through Indian Railways. "The Annual Average Budget Outlay for the 2024-25 fiscal year is 13,941 Cr which is three-fold higher than the UPA regime - 4,380 Cr. This is over and above the ongoing projects estimated at the value of Rs 60,168 Cr," he said. 

Adhikari, Leader of the Opposition in Bengal, said this was just one Ministry, "the State of West Bengal would be benefiting from all the Ministries and Centrally Sponsored Schemes & Projects." 

Earlier in the day, during a discussion on the budget in Lok Sabha, Banjere said the Modi government had "deprived" West Bengal and other parts of the country of various benefits, including MNERGA and housing scheme. "Since you have failed the defeat us politically in West Bengal, you are now conspiring against the people of the state," he alleged.

The Diamond Harbour MP also challenged the Centre to bring out a white paper on fund allocation to Bengal. "When and how much did they (BJP) give money to Bengal for 100 days work and housing scheme? If they are able to prove even for 10 paise, I will quit politics. I have said thousands of times that they should bring a white paper and say whether they have given even 10 paise to Bengal in these three financial years 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24," he said while speaking to ANI. 

Responding to this, Union MoS and BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar said the Centre was ready to provide data to Abhishek Banerjee. "Whenever he wants, we are ready to provide the data. Abhishek Banerjee is behaving in such a way that he is the ruler of this country. This kind of arrogance is not accepted in a democracy. People know that whenever the Central Government provided money to West Bengal, the money was misused by the TMC Government. TMC Government itself has accepted that some 'chori' has happened."

During his address, Abhishek Banerjee claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was leading a "creaky, shaky and vulnerable" coalition government that looked after the interests of only two states in the budget. He said the budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was aimed at "appeasing and compensating" coalition partners of the ruling NDA.