Suvendu Adhikari alleges Mamata Govt using Samagra Shiksha scheme for “political benefits”

He has urged Education Minister to conduct a diligent survey of the distribution of schoolbags before releasing any further tranche of funds to the state government

Bharatiya Janata Party MLA and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has sent a letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan alleging West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of misusing centrally-funded 'Samagra Shiksha Mission’ for her political benefits.

Suvendu Adhikari in his letter has alleged that CM Mamata Banerjee is using the distribution of schoolbags under the centrally-funded 'Samagra Shiksha Mission' without mentioning the contribution of the central government and using this scheme for her personal political benefits using the 'Biswa Bangla' logo on the schoolbags.

The letter sent to Dharmendra Pradhan states that under the said scheme state is the nodal and executing agency, it is mandated that the respective state government prominently displays or exhibits the contribution of the central government of such scheme to the target beneficiary.

“However, most regretfully, the TMC Govt in West Bengal has thrown all such mutual federal protocol to the winds and has embossed only the Biswa Bangla logo on such schoolbags being distributed to the schoolchildren under the centrally-funded Samagra Shiksha Mission scheme,” the letter reads.

Adhikari further adds that the above incidents constitute an act of misrepresentation of facts to the taxpayers and to the general public at large by a legitimately elected state government and is antithetical to the concept and principles of cooperative federalism.

This particular incident of schoolbag distribution to schoolchildren with the incorrect logo of Biswa Bangla embossed on them and the collateral absence of information of central contribution under the Samagra Shiksha Mission scheme misrepresents the factual position of the dynamics of centre-state fiscal federalism.

He has urged Education Minister to conduct a diligent survey and/or enquiry of such distribution of schoolbags as stated above before releasing any further tranche of funds to the state government and issue an administrative demarche to the state government for course correction to prevent any such wrong step in the future with an undertaking.

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