The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is getting ready to protest against the Central government in New Delhi for two days, starting on Monday. They are upset about the delay in giving funds to the West Bengal government for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
Despite facing challenges in getting permission for their protest at Jantar Mantar, the TMC plans to have a peaceful sit-in at Rajghat on October 2, which is Gandhi Jayanti. They also plan to have a peaceful rally with MGNREGA job card holders the next day. Both events will be livestreamed.
The protest is called ‘Dilli Cholo: A fight for our rights!’ and aims to bring attention to the alleged non-payment of wages for 100 days of work under the MGNREGA scheme.
Here are some key points about the TMC’s protest:
1. Abhishek Banerjee, the TMC’s national general secretary, arrived in New Delhi on Sunday. 49 buses filled with party supporters will reach the capital on Monday.
2. The idea for the protest came up during the Nobo Jowar Yatra in West Bengal. Banerjee learned about how the central government’s withholding of funds for MGNREGA was affecting the state’s residents.
3. TMC leaders have faced obstacles in organizing the protest, such as permission denials and disruptions in train and flight services. They are still waiting for written permission for the protest at Jantar Mantar, where Section 144 has been imposed.
4. Party leaders, including Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Dola Sen, and Babul Supriyo, met to plan for the protest. They will start at Raj Ghat because MGNREGA is connected to Mahatma Gandhi.
5. Abhishek Banerjee will hold a press conference in the evening to provide more details about the schedule for October 3.
6. The TMC arranged buses for their supporters after the Indian Railways denied them special trains. They see these actions, along with flight cancellations, as attempts by the ruling BJP to stop their protest.
7. Abhishek Banerjee demanded the arrest of Union rural development and panchayati raj Minister Giriraj Singh after three children died in Bankura district due to a mud house collapse. He believes that timely financial aid could have prevented these deaths under the government housing scheme.
8. Unfortunately, some TMC workers were injured when one of the buses heading to Delhi had an accident in Jharkhand on Sunday.
9. BJP West Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar accused TMC leaders of using airplanes while making protesters travel by buses to Delhi.
10. TMC MP Sougata Roy accused the BJP of trying to sabotage their protests by denying train bookings and canceling flights. He urged the people of the country to take notice of these actions by the BJP.
