West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday slammed the BJP, saying they bring up Hindu-Muslim politics during the polls but ignore the state during floods.
“During elections they come here with their Hindu-Muslim politics. They come here to create division and make brothers fight each other. But when the river banks are eroded and floods destruct everything, they look away,” said Mamata.
She was speaking while visiting Murshidabad, where she felicitated beneficiaries of multiple state government welfare schemes at an event organised by the district administration. The Murshidabad event marked the beginning of the chief minister’s three-district tour. From Murshidabad, she will travel to Malda and Alipurduar districts.
In Murshidabad, the chief minister highlighted the issue of river embankment erosion, a major crisis affecting the Murshidabad and Malda regions. She criticised the BJP-led central government for allegedly ignoring the hardships of the local population. She also accused the Centre of failing to assist the state government in its flood control efforts.
“There was a scheme of the central government earlier for preventing river bank erosion. Earlier, the Centre used to control flood. Now it doesn’t,” said Mamata. “When river rises and floods roads and washes away homes and fields, we have to take adequate measures. Yet, the Centre doesn’t give us our money.”
The chief minister further stated that 1,500 hectares of land are being eroded by the Ganga river. Despite reaching out to the central government, no assistance has been provided to the state, she said.
“Bengal has been consistently deprived. No one helps during floods or erosion. That’s why we are taking action. We’ve allocated Rs 400 crore to address the erosion issue,” she added.
CM Banerjee also informed the administration will carry the next phase of ‘Duarte Sarkar’ (government at your doorstep) initiative from January 24 to February 1. Under this initiative, the government sets up camps at the panchayat and municipality ward levels to help citizens access state welfare schemes.
Monday’s visit marked CM Banerjee’s first administrative outreach in Murshidabad since her party won all three seats in the district during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
