GG News Bureau
Kolkata, 2nd Feb. Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, will stage a sit-in protest starting today to express her dissatisfaction with the central government for withholding the state’s dues.
This issue, particularly regarding the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), has become a significant political controversy in the state.
The protest will begin at 1 pm in the Red Road area in Maidan, with Mamata Banerjee leading the agitation. Other senior leaders of the party will also be present, according to a senior TMC leader.
Prior demonstrations by TMC’s national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, along with a group of party legislators, MPs, ministers, and MGNREGA workers in New Delhi, followed by a five-day sit-in outside Raj Bhavan in Kolkata, have highlighted the seriousness of the situation.
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 aims to improve the livelihood security of households in rural areas by providing a minimum of 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year.
According to TMC sources, this sit-in protest is the third major agitation over the issue before the Lok Sabha polls.
Sources suggest that the demonstration may last for 48 hours, strategically coinciding with the start of the West Bengal budget session on February 5.
This latest protest follows a similar two-day sit-in led by Mamata Banerjee herself in March of the previous year, as well as Abhishek Banerjee’s agitation in New Delhi and subsequent sit-in outside Raj Bhavan in Kolkata.
