Kolkata, Sep 11: Lashing out at the Centre for what she termed as “vendetta politics”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said her partymen will pray at Rajghat if permission to protest in Delhi on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary is denied.
The TMC had sought permission from Delhi Police to protest the non-release of NREGA dues to Bengal at three venues in the national capital including Rajghat where Gandhi’s ashes are kept. “How can Delhi Police give permission [for the protest] when they are scared? They are not our enemies but they have to follow political directives. Every person can go to pay their respects to Mahatma Gandhi on Gandhi Jayanti. If they deny us permission to protest, our MPs, MLAs, and zilla parishad presidents can go and pray at Rajghat,” Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat on Monday.
Demanding the Centre to release NREGA funds due to Bengal without delay, the chief minister said, “They have not given us money for 100 days’ of work, roads, and Gramin Awas Yojana.” “Bengal owes Rs 1.15 lakh-crore under various heads. If they have even the slightest respect for federalism and state-Centre relations, they should release the funds at the earliest. It is not good to play politics with the poor,” she said. (PTI)
