'TMC neither works nor lets others work until they get their cut': PM Modi

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 14 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a strong attack on the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), accusing the party of obstructing development and preventing the implementation of central government schemes in Kolkata, West Bengal.
Addressing a rally in Kolkata, Modi alleged that the TMC government functions with the sole agenda of blocking progress. He claimed that the party neither works itself nor allows others to work, and that government schemes fail to reach villages and the poor unless party members receive a "cut" from the funds.
"The TMC government has only one agenda. These TMC people neither work themselves nor let others work. Until they get their cut of the money, they don't let any scheme reach the villages or the poor. That's why the TMC government keeps blocking the central government's schemes," the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister also accused the state government of obstructing the implementation of the PM Surya Ghar Free Electricity Scheme, a central initiative aimed at providing free electricity to households through rooftop solar installations.
According to PM Modi, the scheme offers financial assistance of Rs 75,000 to Rs 80,000 per beneficiary, enabling families to significantly reduce or eliminate their electricity bills. However, he alleged that the West Bengal government is not allowing the scheme to be implemented in the state.
"To provide free electricity to the countrymen, we have launched the PM Suryaghar Free Electricity Scheme. The BJP-led central government provides 75 to 80 thousand rupees to every beneficiary for this purpose. The beneficiary who joins this scheme gets their household electricity bill reduced to zero. However, the Bengal government is not allowing even this to be implemented," said the Prime Minister.
PM Modi further criticised past governments in the state, stating that administrations led by the Indian National Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and now the TMC have prioritised their own interests while Bengal's development stagnated.
He claimed that the state fell behind in infrastructure, industries have shut down, and businesses have collapsed. The Prime Minister also alleged that under the current TMC government, jobs are being "openly sold."
"First Congress, then the Communists, and now TMC -- they kept coming one after another, filling their own pockets while development in Bengal remained stalled. In terms of infrastructure, Bengal kept falling behind. Industries shut down and businesses collapsed. Under the TMC government, jobs are being openly sold. Now the time has come to change this situation and ensure that the youth of Bengal get opportunities and employment in Bengal itself," the Prime Minister said.
PM Modi also reflected on the state's historical prominence, saying that Bengal once led India in trade and industry, but now young people are forced to migrate to other states in search of employment.
"Once, Bengal used to set the pace for the whole of India; Bengal was at the forefront in trade and industries. But today, the youth here are neither able to obtain degrees nor are they able to find employment. Your sons and daughters have to migrate to other states in search of work," PM Modi said.
Invoking prominent figures associated with Bengal's heritage, including Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Swami Vivekananda, Subhas Chandra Bose, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Rabindranath Tagore, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Khudiram Bose, and Syama Prasad Mookerjee--the Prime Minister said the BJP aims to build the Bengal envisioned by these leaders.
"The Bengal envisioned by all great luminaries such as Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Swami Vivekananda, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Rishi Bankimchandra, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Khudiram Bose, Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee. The BJP government will build that Bengal, will reconstruct it," he said. (ANI)