News Analysis India

Tag: MGNREGA funds

  • Abhishek Banerjee: Abhishek Banerjee slams Centre for withholding MGNREGA funds

    Trinamool National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Monday slammed the central government for blockade of MGNREGA funds for the last two years and “From the last two years, BJP blocked Bengal’s funds because they lost Bengal in 2021. When we went to fight for our rights in Delhi, our women MPs were dragged by their hair. The entire country saw these horrific visuals,” Banerjee alleged, speaking at a programme in his Diamond Harbour COnstituency.

    “Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in 2018 that by 2022, everyone will have a pucca house or roof over their head. What happened to it?”

    After six days, Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee to hold another administrative programme in Maheshtala.”I give details of expenses incurred regarding the work done by me in the constituency,” Banerjee said while speaking about his accountability to people in his constituency.

    “I challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman- none of them would be able to give accountability to people,” Banerjee said.

    “In next five years, I will show you where West Bengal stands. We will take Bengal to greater heights where New Delhi leaders will come seeking for assistance.

    Speaking on Central Agencies or Commissions coming to West Bengal, “The Centrewho think by sending these agencies or ED raid would corner us – they don’t have any idea about us. We won’t cow down. You will have to release people’s money.”The MGNREGA workers have been deprived of their hard-earned wages for the last 2 years. This is not an amount allocated to a new scheme but the wages of the workers. It is an established law that the Centre is bound to release these funds within 15 days,” Abhsihek Banerjee said. “Just because they have been defeated in Bengal, the funds are being withheld. Mamata Banerjee has said that a Swanirbhar Bangla will be created,” he said.

    ” We are not living at the mercy of anyone and that is why the rightful dues worth Rs 4000 crore of 25 lakh workers will be sent to their bank accounts directly by March 1 as promised by the Mamata Banerjee government,” Banerjee added.

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  • BJP MLAs stage protest in Bengal Assembly on CAG report, allege “misappropriation” of MGNREGA funds

    Kolkata: The BJP MLAs on Tuesday tried to move an adjournment and demanded discussion on CAG report in the West Bengal assembly, which was turned downed by the Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay on Tuesday. Following the refusal, BJP MLAs staged a protest on the CAG report and alleged “misappropriation” of MGNREGA funds.

    “We were not even allowed to read our adjournment motion. We were not allowed to even discuss the CAG report in the assembly. The CAG report is not about advance adjustment as said by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee but also finds mention of multiple fraud accounts which have been discovered,” Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari told mediapersons.

    Meanwhile, West Bengal unit of BJP has decided to meet Governor CV Ananda Bose on CAG report issue on March 9 and urge him to send recommendations to CAG for filing FIR against state government on the issue.Trinamool Supremo Mamata Banerjee has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently on the CAG report issue and non-submission of utilization letter, which was raised by BJP state President Sukanta Majumdar. The BJP on January 31 cited a CAG report to allege that “mother of all scams” to the tune of about Rs 2 lakh crore had taken place in the Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal.

    The Speaker turned down the demand stating that the issue has no justification to discuss in the House, following which BJP MLAs protested inside the House.

    Anti-government slogans were shouted by the BJP MLAs- Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, Chief Whip Manoj Tigga and Siligurj legislator Shankar Ghosh among others. They were carrying placards and protested outside the South gate of the assembly.“CAG reports has brought out details of many fake accounts, fund diversion issues, central government guidelines violation, misappropriation of funds. It shows corruption and theft of Trinamool Congress government,” Adhikari said.State Finance Minister (MoS) Chandrima Bhattacharya said, “There is no scope of discussion on CAG in the assembly. The report is from 2003 to 2021. The central government did not receive Utilization Certificates (UC) but have released funds. How were the funds released? How come the Centre announced that Bengal was the topmost performer in MGNREGA? And now the funds have been blocked.”

    After hearing that Mamata Banerjee will pay 21lakh workers under MGNREGA, BJP has lost their minds and made all these allegations,” Bhattacharya said.

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  • Jharkhand money laundering probe: ED gets another 5-day to grill IAS officer Pooja Singhal

    Express News Service

    RANCHI: Remand of IAS office Pooja Singhal, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in money laundering case, has been extended for another 5 days. Producing Singhal in the Court, ED’s Counsel informed that she has been complaining of giddiness quite frequently, due to which they are facing problems in interrogation, and hence, needs another 6 days for quizzing her.

    Besides providing medical facilities to the IAS officer, EDs Counsel informed Court, they also have to arrange some medical tests during interrogation which kills much time. On the requests made by ED, the court extended her remand for another five days.

    “We pleaded before the court that they are trying to get information related to the digital devices, documents, and sources of income, which has not been completed. In addition to that, the court was also told that Singhal is being interrogated in front of the District Mining Officers (DMO), for which, we needsome more time,” said ED’s Counsel BMP Singh. Citing all these grounds, ED demanded a 6-day remand for Pooja Singhal but was granted only for 5-days, he added.

    CA Suman Kumar, however, has been sent to jail, said Singh. The Enforcement Directorate, after interrogation for over 15 hours, had arrested mining secretary Pooja Singhal on May 11 in a money laundering case linked to alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds and other charges while Charteredaccountant Suman Kumar, associated with Singhal, had already been arrested three days back. A day after her arrest, the State Government suspended Singhal on May 12. 

    The 2000-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer has been taken into ED custody under the relevant sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Singhal was arrested on the second day of the questioning being done by the ED officials after her replies to the questions asked by ED duringquestioning were not satisfactory and her replies were evasive.

    According to ED, Rs 1.43 crore more than the known sources of her income were recovered from the bank accounts of Pooja Singhal while she was Deputy Commissioner in Khunti, Palamu and Chatra. The ED also claimed that Singhal purchased as many as 13 insurance policies by paying a premium of Rs 80.81 lakh and closed them before completion of their tenure and got Rs 84.64 lakh against it.

    Notably, the ED on May 6 conducted raids at several locations, including that of Pooja Singhal, in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged embezzlement of over Rs 18 crore MGNREGA funds in Khunti district during 2008-2011. The raids were conducted at a total of 18 locations including Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, NCR as well as Ranchi, Khunti and Dhanbad in Jharkhand.