Protests on the “cut-money” issue continues in various parts of West Bengal as people demanded money some Trinamool Congress leaders had taken as “share” from the poor under various government projects.
A major part of the protests are centred in the Birbhum district where protests were held by villagers in Ilambazar and Nanoor. People held protests demanding money from local Trinamool Congress leaders claiming they had kept a share of their pay from the 100-day work scheme of the government and for construction of homes for the poor, another government programme.
However, the local Trinamool Congress leaders claimed that they have not taken any share and that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had been consistently instigating the poor to organise these protests.
Earlier too, protests were held in various parts of the state after West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee told her party functionaries not to work in her party if they took a share of the money from government projects and schemes meant for the poor. After her party’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls, Banerjee is trying to cleanse the Trinamool Congress by asking the corrupt leaders of her party to either leave or return the money they took from the poor.
This has led to both positive and negative impact. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has grabbed the opportunity to start protest meets all over the state trying to tell people that the Trinamool Congress is full of corrupt politicians. On the other hand, by giving out the strong message against corruption, Banerjee is trying to change her party’s image where there is currently an exodus from her party to the BJP, and many leaders are looking for greener pastures.
Earlier, in Birbhum’s Koma panchayat area, Trinamool Congress functionary Trilochan Mukhopadhyay had returned approximately Rs 2.5 lakh to the poor.
In most of these cases, the anchal, booth and block sabhapati rank functionaries of the Trinamool Congress are being seen as the main group of party workers who have been keeping a share of the poor under various government programmes. It is due to this that the Trinamool Congress got a drubbing in the recent Lok Sabha polls, believe a section of the party. And the policy now has been to cleanse of the party by getting rid of this corrupt section and to earn people’s confidence in the party again.
Posters demanding return of “cut money” from various parts of the state including East Midnapore, Malda and even Kolkata were found.
The state police authorities have urged people to lodge complaints with the police against people who have taken “cut money”. The government has also introduced a toll-free number where people can bring to the notice of authorities how they had to pay political leaders in order to benefit from government programmes.
