Abhishek Banerjee defends welfare schemes and attacks BJP at Bengal rally

Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday strongly defended the West Bengal government’s flagship welfare initiatives while launching a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, accusing it of failing to honour its promises.

Addressing an election rally in Bankura district, the Trinamool Congress leader asserted that the popular Lakshmir Bhandar scheme would continue without interruption, regardless of political developments.

He assured voters that women beneficiaries would keep receiving financial assistance under the programme for life. Under the scheme, women from the general category receive Rs 1,000 per month, while those from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities are entitled to Rs 1,200.

“No one can stop Lakshmir Bhandar,” he said, stressing the ruling party’s commitment to social welfare.

Banerjee criticised the BJP for what he described as a pattern of “unfulfilled promises”, referring to past pledges such as transferring ₹15 lakh into every bank account and creating two crore jobs annually.

He argued that a party which failed to deliver on such commitments could not be trusted to provide meaningful welfare support.

The TMC leader also challenged BJP-ruled states to implement similar direct benefit schemes, claiming that none had matched West Bengal’s model of universal assistance for women.

He contrasted what he termed the BJP’s “Modi guarantee” with the assurances given by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, describing the latter as a “lifetime assurance”.

Highlighting development work in his constituency, Banerjee said rural infrastructure projects worth Rs 80 crore had been completed in recent years without central assistance. He pledged to double that investment over the next five years.

He further accused the central government of failing to curb inflation and alleged that funds allocated for rural development were being withheld.

Raising concerns over the treatment of migrants, he claimed that people from West Bengal were being labelled as outsiders or even “Bangladeshis” in other parts of the country.

Assembly elections in the state will be held in two phases later this month, with counting scheduled for early May, as campaigning gathers momentum across the region.

With PTI inputs