Cut money row: The protests against the ruling Trinamool Congress leaders over the issue of ‘refund of cut money’ since 2011 are increasing day by day. The move may have a severe result on the civic bodies poll scheduled to be held in 2020 and Assembly elections in 2021. Demonstrations are being held outside the residences of the TMC leaders ranging from gram panchayat members to a parliamentarian across the state.
On Wednesday, a Trinamool worker- Purnendy Chattopadhyay (53 ) was found hanging from a tree. The incident took place at a village in East Burdwan district. The TMC alleged that BJP killed Chattopadhyay, however, BJP denies the allegations. According to reports, Chattopadhyay was not staying in his house following the agitation by people demanding the return of cut money taken by him from them.
In Islampur, people have written ‘thief’ on a TMC councilor’s house while in Mangalkot, the protesters vandalized the vehicle of deputy chief of the Chanak gram panchayat. In Midnapore, two elected councillors fled from their residences after locals agitated in front of their houses for two consecutive days.
In Birbhum’s Chatra village, a booth president of the TMC has returned more than Rs 2 lakh cut money to the people.
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In North Dinajpur, the police had arrested a TMC panchayat Samiti official and a former gram panchayat pradhan on charges of misappropriation of the government scheme and welfare funds.
Reiterating her statement on cut money in the state Assembly, Mamata Banerjee said what is wrong in asking the party workers to stop corruption and misuse of government funds.
The issue of ‘cut money’ was also raised in the ongoing session of the Parliament.
In a conference of party leaders on June 18, 2019, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had asked them to stop taking cut money from the beneficiaries of government welfare schemes. She also asked the police to lodge formal complaints against the elected representatives and leaders. The West Bengal government has also formed a special team at Nabanna, state secretariat, to look into the complaints of corruption.