BJP leader Rahul Sinha on Monday said that incorporation of West Bengal under the Centre's "Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan", as requested by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, can only be possible once the ruling Trinamool Congress is thrown out of power from the state.
Sinha's statement has come after the leader of Congress in Lok Sabha wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to incorporate the state under the "Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan" to provide jobs to the workers who have returned during the COVID-19 induced lockdown.
"The Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan cannot be started in West Bengal as there is an anti-poor government in the state. While this government is in power no welfare schemes for the poor can begin in the state. The West Bengal government did not let the benefits of the PM-Kisan Yojana reach the farmers, neither did they allow the Ayushman Bharat scheme to run," Sinha said.
"They were not even allowing the return of migrant workers to the state (during the lockdown phase). The Prime Minister always wants to give support to West Bengal, even during the corona crisis the Prime Minister reached the state after Cyclone Amphan and provided Rs 1,000 crore at the request of the Chief Minister, but the money is being used by the TMC government and it did not reach the poor people," he further alleged.
The BJP leader further said that the Congress leaders of the state are supporting the TMC government and misusing the funds provided by the Centre.
"Congress on one hand is siding with the TMC which is misusing the funds and on the other is talking about welfare schemes for the poor. Both are not possible together, this government should be thrown out of power from West Bengal only then will the poor get jobs, only then will their welfare start. This is not at all possible till Mamata Banerjee is in power in the state," Sinha said, adding that Chowdhury should first get a hold on the Congress leaders from the state before urging the Prime Minister.
The Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan, with a duration of 125 days, will work in mission mode and involve focused implementation of 25 categories of works or activities in 116 districts, each with a large concentration of returnee workers in six states -- Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha.
Similar to Chowdhury's demand for West Bengal's inclusion in the scheme, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel too had requested Prime Minister Modi to include Chhattisgarh in the initiative.
( With inputs from ANI )