Slamming the Opposition parties for calling TMC leaders “thieves” after the arrest of state ministers and party leaders, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she never took a single paisa from anyone.
Addressing a Bijoya Sammilani (a post-Puja get-together) at Bhabanipur, her Assembly constituency, Banerjee said that there might have been problems with some individuals but calling all the leaders thieves was not justified.
“The previous Left Front government was the most corrupt. After our party came to power in 2011, we detected one crore fake ration cards. Those were later scrapped. There might have been problems with certain individuals, but we made great efforts in cleaning up the system for seven to eight years. Have we taken one cup of tea with other’s money? I did not take one single paisa. I do not take the Rs 1.25 lakh monthly pension (as an MP),” said Banerjee.
The TMC supremo’s remark came in the backdrop of the arrest of minister Jyoti Priya Mallick by the ED in connection with the alleged irregularities in the public distribution system in the state.
Last year, another state minister Partha Chatterjee, and TMC MLA Jiban Krishna Saha were arrested in connection with the school recruitment scam. Trinamool heavyweight Anubrata Mondal was arrested last year for his alleged involvement in the cattle smuggling case.
As these arrests, the Opposition parties, especially the BJP, have been calling TMC leaders thieves.
A visibly infuriated Banerjee also asked people not to allow those who speak ill of her to go near her body after she dies.
“The biggest thieves are sitting elsewhere. But slurs are hurled against us. They do not spare an opportunity to indulge in a smear campaign against us. Those who speak ill of me in every chance they get, must not be allowed to go near my body once I die,” said Banerjee.
The chief minister said that those who had given farmland at Singur for Tata’s Nano car project and later got it back, are still getting Rs 2,000 as a monthly allowance apart from free rice as her government is pro-people.
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In an apparent dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has a cricket stadium named after him at Ahmedabad, the chief minister said, “I believe in doing work as much as I can. But I don’t believe in self-publicity like others. I didn’t name a stadium after me.”
Shifting her focus to the non-payment of MGNREGA dues by the Centre, Banerjee said, “Giving wages to those who have worked for the 100 days’ work is mandatory and Rs 7000 crore is due to the state. The allocation of funds for PM Awas Yojana and Gramin Sadak Yojana has been stopped. The state bears 60 per cent cost of the central projects but the Centre takes away all the money. We must protest against this,” she said.
She added that the Durga Puja festival this year brought in 40,000 foreign tourists to the state, including Kolkata, and added that the Red Road Carnival in which select idols of goddess Durga are showcased can be compared to the Rio Carnival in Brazil.
