Mamata Banerjee Returns Empty-Handed From Delhi Showdown After PM Modi Reads Her The Riot Act

Before Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee left for New Delhi earlier this week, she had vowed to get Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release the Rs 1.16 lakh crore that she claims is due to the state. 

A chastened Banerjee will return to Kolkata Thursday (21 December) with nothing to show for her much-touted meeting with Prime Minister Modi at the Parliament complex Wednesday (20 December). 

Accompanied by nine of her party MPs, Banerjee met the Prime Minister for less than 25 minutes. She submitted a three-page letter (see this) demanding release of pending dues. 

This has been a long-standing demand of Banerjee, who has often accused the union government of depriving Bengal of funds for many centrally-sponsored schemes like the MGNREGA, PMAY, PMGSY and PM-PENSION, among others. Banerjee has made this a political issue. 

But the union government, and the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have said repeatedly that disbursal of funds have been held up due to the state government’s refusal to punish thousands of government officials and Trinamool functionaries who have syphoned off huge sums of money from these schemes. 

The Mamata Banerjee government is also guilty of flouting norms governing these schemes and trying to pass them off as the state’s own welfare schemes. 

What Happened At The Meeting With The Prime Minister

Banerjee then handed over the letter she was carrying to the Prime Minister and explained how funds were held up under various heads. 

She reasoned that the poor people of Bengal were suffering due to non-disbursal of funds from the Centre. She said that in a federal structure, the Centre has to consider states as equal partners. 

Banerjee told the Prime Minister that Bengal was not asking for any special favours, but only the funds that were due to the state. She asserted that the anomalies that were detected earlier have been rectified and leakages plugged. 

Prime Minister Modi reportedly listened to her patiently and interjected just once to ask if the state government had replied to the clarifications sought by central monitoring teams which audited the implementation of various centrally-sponsored schemes in Bengal. 

Banerjee replied that the state had done so innumerable times. She said that central teams had carried out audits of various schemes and projects 155 times and the state government has answered all points raised by them. 

Modi, who reportedly sat through the meeting with a stern visage, then said that he has been told that the state government has not been able to furnish proper and satisfactory ‘action taken reports’ (ATRs) on the huge number of anomalies that have been detected in implementation of centrally-sponsored schemes in Bengal. 

The Prime Minister said that officials of various union ministries which carried out the audits were not satisfied with the ATRs filed by the state government. 

The Prime Minister told Banerjee that welfare schemes and projects were meant for the poor and deserving, and anyone who tries to deprive the poor of those benefits should be dealt with firmly.

He said it was sin to commit such an act and syphoning off funds meant for the poor was a crime against society and the nation. 

Prime Minister Modi also firmly told Banerjee that his hands were tied and he would not be able to do anything flouting laid-down rules and procedures. 

He then suggested that since these were administrative matters and not policy matters, it would be best to leave it to Central and state officials to sort them out. 

The Prime Minister, for all purposes, read Banerjee the Riot Act. She was not expecting the Prime Minister to be so stern and straightforward. 

Prime Minister Modi’s plainspeak left her speechless and she had no option but to agree to his suggestion that Central and state officials should sit to sort out the issue. 

A visibly chastened Banerjee then addressed mediapersons.

According to many observers, the unusually subdued tone and demeanour of the Bengal Chief Minister was evidence enough of the admonishment she had received (watch Banerjee briefing reporters here).

Mamata Banerjee Has Been Cornered

Banerjee knows that she has been truly cornered now.

The proposed meetings between central and state government officials will yield very little if the state government does not take resolute action against the lower-level officials and Trinamool functionaries were were involved in largescale anomalies and malfeasance. 

Taking action against tens of thousands of Trinamool karyakartas who are alleged to have looted central funds will be very difficult, if not impossible, for Banerjee. Similarly, punishing guilty lower level officials would alienate the lower bureaucracy that is critical to the Trinamool’s political survival. 

But if such action is not taken and satisfactory ATRs not filed, senior state officials will find themselves in a very difficult situation.

They will be forced to accept that the state is at fault.