Kolkata, 05 June (H.S.):

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has formally sought an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week to discuss the state’s long-pending dues under various centrally sponsored schemes. According to sources in the state secretariat, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has written to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), requesting a meeting on June 10.

If the PMO grants the request, Banerjee is expected to leave for New Delhi on the night of June 9. During her visit, she is also likely to meet Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs, though sources say no meetings with leaders from the opposition INDIA bloc are currently planned.

The meeting request comes amid escalating tensions between the Centre and the West Bengal government. Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly accused the Modi government of withholding crucial funds. She claims that over ₹1.75 lakh crore owed to the state under schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) remains unpaid.

In response, senior BJP leader and central observer for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, has accused the state government of misappropriating funds previously disbursed. He asserted that the Centre had to suspend further allocations due to large-scale corruption in the implementation of these schemes.

Prime Minister Modi himself recently criticized the state administration during a public rally in Alipurduar, alleging that widespread corruption by TMC leaders had crippled the delivery of central schemes, depriving common people of their benefits.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah echoed similar allegations during a rally in Kolkata last Sunday, accusing the West Bengal government of systemic corruption and financial mismanagement in centrally funded projects.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh