Kolkata, July 31 West Bengal Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and veteran BJP leader, Suvendu Adhikari, on Thursday, appealed to the community Durga Puja Committees in the state not to accept the annual dole paid to them as a mark of respect to the woman junior doctor of the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, who was allegedly raped and murdered within the hospital premises in August last year.
LoP Adhikari also said that the puja committees should also refuse the state dole offer as a mark of solidarity towards the lakhs of unemployed youths in the state, whose dreams of earning a decent livelihood had been shattered because of the flawed policies of the Trinamool Congress government.
"Tilittama or Abhaya (the name given to the R.G. Kar rape and murder) victim had been killed by their (Trinamool) people. The women are unsafe in West Bengal. The dreams of the unemployed youths in the state have been shattered. In such a situation, my appeal to the community puja committees is that they should refuse the dole offered by the state government. Even those who will be receiving the dole amount should not display the picture of Mamata Banerjee at their respective puja pandals," he added.
At the same time, LoP Adhikari also announced full support on this part to those community Durga Puja committees, who would be refusing the state government's dole offer this year.
"Those who would be refusing the state government dole offer, please contact me. I am there to support you," he said.
LoP Adhikari's announcement on this count comes soon after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday, announced a hike in the grant for each community Durga puja committee to Rs 1.1 lakh from Rs 85,000 last year.
The CPI-M Central Committee member Sujan Chakraborty also launched a scathing attack against Chief Minister Banerjee for announcing an announcement on the increased annual dole amount for the community Durga Puja committee.
"The development activities in the state have stopped because of the cash-strapped exchequer. The state-run schools are languishing because of a lack of funds. There is no scope for employment generation. Still, the state government has increased the dole for festivals. This is because of the Assembly elections in the state next year," Chakraborty said.
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