Mamata accuses BJP of breaking promise on Annapurna Bhandar aid for women

Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP-led West Bengal government of reneging on its pre-poll promise of Annapurna Bhandar assistance for women and excluding beneficiaries through eligibility rules. She claimed payments to many former Lakshmir Bhandar beneficiaries were stopped or withheld, triggering protests

Kolkata: TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday lashed out at the BJP, accusing the saffron party of violating its pre-poll promise of providing Annapurna Bhandar monetary assistance to all women of West Bengal, and also allegedly cutting down the number of beneficiaries under the pretext of “ineligibility”.

Addressing people on Facebook Live from her Kalighat residence, the former chief minister said the BJP had not imposed conditions for handing out the benefit during its campaigns ahead of the state polls, but had “introduced them after assuming power”. “The BJP is slashing Annapurna Yojna beneficiary numbers under the pretext of ineligibility. The Lakshmir Bhandar scheme during TMC rule was meant for all,” Banerjee said.

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She alleged that complicated form-filling procedures and various rules have now been imposed in the name of deciding eligibility of the beneficiaries. “The BJP violated its pre-poll promise of providing Annapurna Yojna to all women and has cheated people later. We had started Lakshmir Bhandar to make women financially self-sufficient, but the saffron party is considering people’s religion and race to provide Annapurna money,” she alleged.

Referring to incidents of road and rail blockades in several districts and demonstrations of anger directed at local BJP leaders and ministers over delay in disbursement of the amounts, Banerjee raised questions about the state government’s intentions regarding the determination of who is eligible or otherwise for the Annapurna Yojana and the non-payment of the allowance.

“Will the BJP decide who should receive the assistance and who shouldn’t?” she said.
She claimed that among the women in the state who were receiving benefits under Lakshmir Bhandar until the Assembly elections, allowances for around 75 per cent have now either been stopped or withheld. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Saturday that all eligible women dependent on the monetary assistance would be covered under the Annapurna scheme, even if the number of beneficiaries increased by 20-30 lakh. The state government claimed it disbursed the monthly Rs 3,000 cash assistance to 1.45 crore women in the state, but protests broke out in various pockets after lakhs of applicants were allegedly excluded.

The Lakshmir Bhandar scheme under the erstwhile TMC regime, with monthly payouts ranging between Rs 1,000-1,500, covered some 2.3 crore beneficiaries.
While extending the July 31 application deadline for the scheme for those left out of the initial list of beneficiaries, Adhikari had simultaneously declared that threats, media trials and social media campaigns won’t influence the government’s decision to fix eligibility criteria for the assistance.

Taking a dig at the BJP administration, Banerjee said the ruling party is now preoccupied solely with filing cases against opposition political workers. “Around 15,000 to 20,000 cases have so far been filed against TMC workers and supporters. In its pursuit of political vendetta, the BJP government has not had even a moment to pay attention to whether ordinary women are actually receiving money under the Annapurna Yojana or not,” the TMC supremo said.

Meanwhile, regarding the protests over the Annapurna Yojana, Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Pal had claimed that TMC supporters were behind the agitations and were trying to create trouble by instigating people. Panchayat Minister Dilip Ghosh recently opined that Trinamool Congress had “spoiled the women” by handing out Lakshmir Bhandar benefits indiscriminately.