Bengal: BJP workers lock panchayat office over Annapurna dues as protests spread

• BJP Mahila Morcha workers and other women have joined protests over delayed or rejected Annapurna payments, including an alleged locking of a gram panchayat office in Hooghly.

• The protests come days after the government announced that nearly 1.58 crore women would receive the September instalment of Rs 3,000 through direct transfers on 17 September. 

• Demonstrations have been reported from several districts, with protesters citing pending applications, rejections, verification issues and DBT discrepancies; BJP workers themselves are now demanding answers from their own government.

The Annapurna Bhandar scheme is facing another wave of protests in West Bengal, with even BJP Mahila Morcha workers and other women demonstrating over non-payment of the promised Rs 3,000 monthly assistance. In Polba, Hooghly, women identifying themselves as BJP workers allegedly locked a gram panchayat office, while in Cooch Behar, protesters confronted minister of state Malati Rava Roy over rejected and pending applications.

The latest protests have been reported from Malda, Nadia, Hooghly, Paschim Medinipur, Howrah and Murshidabad, adding to growing anger among women who say they completed the required formalities but are still waiting for the money. Similar protests over delayed or missing payments have been reported across Bengal in recent months.

What makes the latest protests particularly striking is that BJP workers themselves are among those demonstrating against the BJP government. The development comes days after the government announced that the September instalment would be transferred to beneficiaries on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday, 17 September. Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari had said nearly 1.58 crore women would receive Rs 3,000 each through direct benefit transfers.

Yet within days, women were back on the streets and outside block offices, asking why the promised money had not reached them.

In Harishchandrapur-I in Malda, women arrived at the BDO office with their grievances and sought to meet BDO Debashis Samanta. They alleged that a barricade had been placed at the office entrance and guarded by civic volunteers and police personnel. Angry protesters claimed that repeated visits to the block office had yielded no satisfactory response.

The women alleged that some people with expensive houses and cars were receiving the benefit while families they considered genuinely needy were being excluded. These remain allegations by the protesters, but their frustration was evident: they said they had applied correctly, submitted the required documents and were still waiting for payments.

In Krishnaganj, Nadia, women staged a sit-in outside the block office, claiming they had followed the prescribed procedure and submitted all necessary documents. They alleged that women who had applied at the same time were receiving payments while their own names had not appeared on the beneficiary list.

The prolonged protest disrupted the functioning of the block office. Officials eventually spoke to the protesters and assured them that their applications and documents would be examined and necessary action taken. The women withdrew after receiving the assurance.

In Polba, Hooghly, the confrontation took a more dramatic turn. Women identifying themselves as BJP workers allegedly locked the Sugandha Gram Panchayat office after claiming that they had been waiting for months for their Annapurna payments.

Protester Suparna Sarkar said, “We applied in July. We are still being told to wait. If they are going to give it, they should give it to everyone; otherwise, they shouldn't give it at all.”

BJP worker Rakhi Malik said, “Several of us BJP workers are eligible but haven't received the money. We applied four months ago. That is why we locked the panchayat office.”

Police from Polba police station reached the spot and spoke to the protesters.

The anger has also reached the doors of ministers. In Cooch Behar, women who said their applications had been rejected or kept under enquiry protested over the Annapurna payments and confronted minister of state Malati Rava Roy. Earlier, around 100 women had protested outside the minister's residence, saying they had completed online and offline applications and undergone verification but still had not received the Rs 3,000.

One protester, Chandana Sarkar, said she had applied twice, with one application rejected and the other showing 'under enquiry'. “Sometimes, I am told that my application has been rejected because my house has more than three rooms. But my house has only three rooms. We have been repeatedly harassed,” she said.

Another woman questioned why eligible applicants were being excluded when the rules appeared to have changed after applications were submitted. Protesters also claimed that owning concrete houses or discrepancies in application details were subsequently being used as grounds for rejection.

The minister assured protesters that eligible beneficiaries would not be deprived and that administrative problems would be examined.

The anger was equally visible in Kharagpur, where women blocked the road outside the municipality before continuing their protest inside the building and surrounding the chairperson's office. Municipality chairperson Kalyani Ghosh said, “I will forward the women's applications to the District Magistrate and make a request to him. We, too, want the women to receive the Annapurna Yojana funds.”

In Panchla and Udaynarayanpur in Howrah, women also blocked roads, alleging that their Rs 3,000 payments had not arrived despite submission of the required documents. In Udaynarayanpur, many applications were reportedly showing an 'under process' status. The administration said some cases involved DBT linkage problems or discrepancies in the information submitted.

The situation became still more tense in Hariharpara, Murshidabad, where women protesting outside the block office allegedly clashed with female civic volunteers. Police arrived and cleared the premises. Police sources said five people, including four women, were detained.