A Trinamul Congress leader in Cooch Behar has drawn himself and the party into fresh controversy by asserting that women who are beneficiaries of Laxmir Bhandar — the monthly assistance scheme run by the Mamata Banerjee government for women — but have voted for the BJP should not be provided with the grant.

“Narendra Modi doesn’t provide Laxmir Bhandar. It is Mamata Banerjee who
disburses the grant. Those who receive the benefits of the scheme and yet voted for the BJP should not get the assistance. It should be stopped,” Dipak Bhattacharya, the TMC president of the Dinhata 2 block of the district, said on Saturday evening.

He was speaking at a TMC workers’ meeting in the Sukarurkuthi area of the block. It was called ahead of the mega rally of the TMC which would be held on July 21 in Calcutta.

“We have specific information about some of such beneficiaries who live in
certain villages of this block. Their names should be struck off from the list of beneficiaries,” added Bhattacharya.

In north Bengal, Cooch Behar is the only Lok Sabha seat which the TMC has bagged this year. Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, the TMC candidate, has defeated former minister and MP Nisith Pramanik, who had contested on the BJP’s ticket for the second time, by 39,250 votes.

The remarks have left the district TMC leaders in an uncomfortable situation. They have hurriedly come up with a clarification, saying that the party doesn’t endorse such comments.

“We don’t support such remarks. The social welfare schemes of the state are
provided to all such people who are eligible for it and not based on who voted
which party,” said Rabindranath Ghosh, a state vice-president of Trinamool based in Cooch Behar.

Biraj Bose, the district general secretary of BJP, said the remarks hint at the intentions of TMC leaders.

“The remarks indicate that the TMC is trying to have absolute control over the entire population of Bengal and is not ready to leave any space for the Opposition. As women voters in Cooch Behar have voted for the BJP, they are being intimidated while referring to social welfare schemes,” said Bose.

On Sunday, Bhattacharya, the TMC leader of Dinhata, claimed that he didn’t make such a remark even though a video showing him circulated on social media.

“My comments have been distorted with political intentions,” he said.

Demonstration

A group of TMC supporters took out a rally at Jaygirchilakhana village in Tufanganj 1 block of the district on Sunday and marched to the house of Ayub Hossain, a local leader of the BJP’s minority morcha.

District BJP leaders alleged that TMC supporters demonstrated in front of his house and also put the party’s flags in different parts of Hossain’s house and the house of four other BJP supporters, before leaving the spot.

“TMC leaders and workers are irked with Ayub Hossain, especially because he is from the minority community and works for the BJP. After the Lok Sabha polls, he had to face threats from such leaders and had filed complaints with the police. Now, he is being pressured to withdraw his complaint through such acts,” said Subhasish Choudhury, a BJP leader.

TMC leaders have declined comments.