Our fight is against Centre's 'Zamindari' system: Abhishek Banerjee
Oct 07, 2023
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], October 8 : Senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee criticized Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti on Saturday, accusing her of spreading false information about a meeting with the party's delegation in New Delhi. Banerjee stated that the TMC is prepared to meet her at Raj Bhavan to discuss the MGNREGA issue.
Banerjee, the TMC national general secretary, also condemned the union minister of state for rural development for allegedly asking the TMC delegation to come to the state BJP office for a discussion on the state's MGNREGA "dues," characterizing it as a manifestation of a "Zamindari" culture mindset.
"Yesterday I said that if (Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti) wants to come to Kolkata and meet us, then we will accept it. She can also meet us at Raj Bhavan, we have no objection but I got the information that she said that if they (TMC delegation) want to meet then they should come here. She (Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti) said this in the BJP office, so does she want us to go to the BJP office? Our fight is against this 'Zamindari' system...,"Abhishek Banerjee said.
"When we went to meet her in New Delhi, she not only refused to meet us after making us wait for a long time but also instructed the police to remove us from Krishi Bhawan. Just yesterday, I had mentioned that senior BJP leaders, including Giriraj Singh and Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, would come to Kolkata to meet us sensing the people's anger," Banerjee said during the sit-in near the Raj Bhavan, which entered its third day on Saturday.
He further took a jibe at Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari and West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar and played a purported video where Sukanta Majumdar claims that funds would be released if he made one phone call.
He further said, "Today, Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar was sitting beside MoS Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti. This same leader said over Rs 2,000 crore is kept there and it will come if he makes one phone call. That prompted me to ask Rajib Banerjee, who was briefly in BJP, if he had Sukanta Majumdar's contact. I believe the 20 lakh beneficiaries should know the number and they should call Sukanta Majumdar and ask him to urge the PMO to release their wages."
Banerjee and other TMC leaders have been holding an indefinite sit-in outside Raj Bhavan in Kolkata since Thursday. They have stated that they will continue the demonstration until Governor CV Ananda Bose meets with the protesters.
