Bengal CM Mamata announces scheme modelled after MGNREGA, names it ‘Khela Hobe’

Kolkata, July 21

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced that her government is planning a scheme to provide work to the poor in line with MGNREGA, the funds for which she claimed were stopped by the Centre.

Addressing a rally in Kolkata, Banerjee said the scheme will be named ‘Khela Hobe’ (Game On) — the slogan of her party TMC during the 2021 Assembly elections.

“Despite being the best performing state in the MNREGA scheme, the Centre has stopped funds out of sheer jealousy and vendetta politics. We will take our fight to Delhi, and on October 2, which is Gandhi Jayanti, we will hold a dharna in Delhi to press for our demands,” she said.

“We are planning to start our own 100-day job scheme and it will be named ‘Khela Hobe’. The West Bengal Government always stands for the poor, and we will create jobs for them,” she added.

The TMC also celebrates August 16 as ‘Khela Hobe Diwas’, during which different sports events are organised across the state.

Congratulating her supporters for the victory in panchayat elections, Banerjee said that the state’s image was being tarnished over a few “isolated incidents of violence”.

“Every death is tragic. Among the 29 people who died, 18 were from the TMC. Why would TMC workers murder their own party colleagues?” she said.

“We have never supported violence in any form and police have taken action in each and every case registered during the panchayat elections,” she added.

Banerjee said the state government will provide Rs 2 lakh as compensation to the families of those killed in the violence, besides a home-guard job to one member of each of those families.