Villagers in Bengal demand return of cut money from TMC leader

Villagers in Bengal demand return of ‘cut money’ from TMC leader

Kolkata, 19 June (HS): Within 24 hours of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s directive to Trinamool Congress councillors and party leaders to return the ‘Cut Money’ they had received from the poor people against government schemes, hundreds of residents of a small village in Birbhum district today gheraoed the residence of their local Panchayat leader, demanding immediate return of money they paid to him for getting benefits from several projects.

According to official sources here today, more than 300 people of Sri Chandrapur village in Birbhum district today made a seize of the house of local Panchayat body leader Uttam Bouri and demanded the return of money they had paid to them to enjoy the financial benefits of state government housing scheme for the poor and  those belonged to the Below Poverty Line (BPL).

‘Since the Chief Minister directed all party leaders to return the cut money which they had taken from us for granting government funds for building concrete houses and for making us beneficiaries of various other government projects, we have come to Bauri for the return of our hard earned money’,said the villagers while making a dharna in front of his house.

They also reportedly made it clear that they would withdraw their dharna only after they received their money back.It was however,not yet known whether Bauri,as directed by the Chief minister, had agreed to return the entire amount which he and some of his associates had  allegedly collected from these poor hapless villagers as cut money.

Meanwhile, as the report of this unique dharna and gherao spread, a large contingent of police force from the local police station reached Sri Chandrapur village and tried to convince the villagers to withdraw their agitation and demand. But till the last reports, the villagers remained adamant to their demand and continued their gherao of the local Panchayat leader’s house.

Incidentally, the Chief Minister at her first meeting with her party councillors after the Lok Sabha election results yesterday lambasted the alleged corrupt party leaders for accepting cut money at random even from the poorest of the poor for granting of government schemes and amassing huge unaccounted wealth in this fashion not only for himself but also for their family members.Such acts must be stopped forthwith,she said and asked them to return these money to their rightful owners.