"Delhi's guarantees are like balloons that go bust after polls": Mamata takes pot shot at Centre

WEST MIDNAPORE: Mocking at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'guarantees' to the people ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said they were nothing but balloons that are inflated and sent up into the skies before polling but go bust once the votes are cast.

Speaking at a government programme in Paschim Medinipur district on Tuesday, CM Mamata said, "Remember, when the Bengal government gives a guarantee, it goes all out to fulfil it. However, similar promises and guarantees made by Delhi (Centre) are seldom met. The guarantees made by Delhi have no standing with the people. They are like gas balloons that are inflated and released into the air before elections. As soon as all votes are cast, all balloons go bust."

Reiterating her pet charge at the Centre for sitting on promised funds for Bengal under MGNREGA, she said her government would step in and have the pending money deposited into the accounts of all the beneficiaries.

Claiming that the Centre also withheld funds for the state under its flagship rural housing scheme, the ruling TMC supremo Bengal stands resilient and cannot be suppressed.

"Despite pleading with them repeatedly to release pending funds for beneficiaries of the 100-day work scheme, we did not receive a penny. This is why our government, today, came forward to transfer all the pending money into the accounts of the beneficiaries.

They (Centre) also blocked Bengal's share under its housing scheme. However, despite such conspiracies against us, we remain resilient. Bengal cannot be suppressed," CM Mamata said.

On the TMC's show of strength at Kolkata's Brigade Parade Grounds on March 10, the chief minister said, "I urge everyone to join us at the Brigade Parade Grounds on March 10 to protest against attempts to defame and spread falsehoods against Bengal and its officials. The protest will take place from 11 pm to 12 pm."

Asserting her party's dominance in the state, the TMC chief said earlier, "Elections may come and go, but the Trinamool Congress will continue to hold sway in Bengal."

Speaking at a government distribution programme in East Medinipur on Monday, Mamata assured the public that the Trinamool Congress would continue to remain the preeminent political force in the state, regardless of electoral outcomes. She said while her party's vote share might go or down, the TMC will endure and will never lose its political hold on the state.