New Delhi, 8 December (H.S.): Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs staged a protest in the Parliament complex on Monday morning, demanding the release of pending MGNREGA funds owed to West Bengal by the central government. The demonstration took place ahead of the commencement of the day’s proceedings in the second week of the ongoing Winter Session.

Carrying placards and banners, the protesting MPs — including Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Mahua Moitra, Saugata Roy, Satabdi Roy, Pratima Mondal, Rachna Banerjee, Sayoni Ghosh, Derek O’Brien, Dola Sen, Kirti Azad, and Asit Kumar — accused the Centre of withholding funds due to political bias.

The banners displayed slogans such as “₹52 billion MGNREGA dues pending,” “BJP deliberately depriving Bengal,” “Four lakh voices, one question — Where is our money?”, “₹20,000 crore unpaid for 500 days of work,” and “₹620 crore pending for 200 days of work.”

The protesters alleged that the BJP-led central government was punishing the poor of Bengal out of “political vendetta.”The Winter Session of Parliament began on December 1, and the Opposition parties have been staging demonstrations daily from 10 a.m., an hour before the proceedings begin, to highlight issues such as farmers’ concerns, unemployment, and alleged discrimination against states ruled by non-BJP parties.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar