A Trinamool Congress leader in Koma panchayat area of Birbhum district today returned to villagers cash amounting to approximately Rs 2.5 lakh that he had under his possession. The money was due to the villagers under the hundred-days’ job programme for which they had already worked. Some of the villagers’ job cards was also with the political leader, which he returned as well.
The Trinamool Congress functionary, Trilochan Mukhopadhyay, returned the money after the villagers had united together and held protest demonstration in the area. Pressure was building on him with the villagers’ protests and the Trinamool Congress leadership trying to project a clean image of the party.
West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has 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.
Mamata Banerjee has also mentioned that many of the corrupt leaders from her party are going to the BJP as they know that action will be taken against them for corruption. She has said that the BJP is “collecting Trinamool Congress’ garbage” – thereby trying to give out the message that it is ultimately the corrupt people from her party who are joining the BJP.
Under this backdrop, Trinamool Congress leaders from various parts of the state are either promising to return the money that they have taken from the poor, or, as in the case of Trilochan Mukhopadhyay, have no other option but to return the cash.
The state police authorities meanwhile, 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.
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