Male Trinamool leader pockets women scheme dole, blames own party for fraud

It is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. After Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari revealed how male Trinamool Congress leaders were receiving cash benefits under the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, meant exclusively for women, one of them blamed his own party for the alleged fraud. The embarrassment for the TMC comes at a time when allegations of corruption are surfacing almost daily after the party was routed in the elections. In another incident, bundles of cash worth over Rs 2 crore were found buried under a field near a Trinamool party office. The developments have only given the BJP a stick to beat the TMC with.

Perhaps the most striking allegation against the TMC was of its own male leaders pocketing the cash dole meant for women under the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme. CM Suvendu revealed this during a press conference on Wednesday, where he announced the Annapurna Yojana for women, a revamp of the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme.

TMC LEADERS POCKET WOMEN SCHEME BENEFITS

Under Lakshmir Bhandar, the flagship scheme of the previous Mamata Banerjee government, eligible women received Rs 1,500 per month directly in their bank accounts. Women from SC/ST groups received Rs 1,700. The BJP has promised to double the amount to Rs 3,000.

The Chief Minister, however, pointed out that the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme was plagued by irregularities, with around 30 lakh beneficiaries found ineligible. He cited the example of one Rakibul Sheikh, a TMC leader and a member of the Radharghat gram panchayat in Murshidabad, who has been receiving Rs 1,500 monthly for the past three years.

"Rakibul Sheikh, a TMC leader from Murshidabad, is getting Lakshmir Bhandar money. Such fake things happened because of a lack of verification," Suvendu said.

The revelation caused a stir. In no time, reporters reached out to Rakibul, who is also a businessman. It has been found that Rakibul has been regularly receiving Rs 1,500 under Lakshmir Bhandar since 2023. His wife was also receiving the cash dole.

When confronted by the media, a jittery Rakibul attempted to throw a curveball. Leaving the TMC red-faced, Rakibul blamed his own party for corruption and fraud.

"The previous TMC government was a corrupt government, so we took the benefits," Rakibul said, according to a report in Anandabazar Patrika.

The Trinamool leader, who has now been detained, claimed he initially didn't know how the money started getting credited to his account. Rakibul claimed he even informed the BDO, but no action was taken.

"Party colleagues told me that if the money is coming, let it come. There is no problem in that," he further said.

Rakibul argued that his case was not isolated, claiming that corruption was widespread under Mamata Banerjee. "If verification is done, it will be seen that everyone indulged in corruption under the government," he claimed.

Interestingly, the names of Rakibul and his wife were removed from the electoral roll this year after the SIR exercise. The BJP has expressed doubts regarding Rakibul's citizenship status as well.

The issue has created a massive stir, leading to a blame game between the panchayat and block administration. The Radharghat panchayat chief, Menuka Begum, washed her hands of it. "Everything was processed by the BDO office," she told ABP.

MORE SKELETONS TUMBLE OUT

The development has led to more skeletons tumbling out of the closet.

Another TMC leader from West Medinipur was found pocketing Lakshmir Bhandar scheme benefits. Uttam Kumar Sau claimed he was unaware that his name had appeared in the list. He attempted to dodge the controversy by claiming that the bank account linked to the scheme was that of his wife.

"If there has been any mistake, authorities can take whatever action they deem necessary," Sau told the media. The incident came to light after the BJP lodged a complaint.

The back-to-back revelations have led to significant outrage on X. "Lakshmir Bhandar was like an ATM with no security guard. It was meant for Bengal's women, but TMC men walked in with their own cards," an NGO manager, Ajay Sarin, posted.

That's not all. Alleged instances of corruption have hit the TMC almost daily in the past three weeks. It has led to a spate of arrests of MLAs and councillors, with the TMC appearing to be teetering on the edge of an organisational collapse.

The party, which ruled Bengal for 15 years, has also been hit by a series of resignations and internal dissent, with senior Lok Sabha MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar publicly speaking out against TMC. Dastidar has also quit all posts in the party amid buzz that she might jump ship to the BJP.

In fact, over the past few days, nearly 100 TMC councillors have resigned in municipalities across its former South Bengal strongholds. It is only deepended the crisis for the party, which is facing its worst turmoil since its inception in 1998.