If Centre is not willing to pay for mid-day meals in school, we will provide money: Mamata Banerjee

A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Bengal-based labourers working outside the state were welcome to return if they were feeling insecure, at a public meeting on Wednesday at Indus village in Bankura district, she came down heavily upon the Centre saying that if they were not ready to give foodgrain for mid-day meal in schools, the state would pay for those.

“They say that they don’t have enough foodgrain for mid-day meal and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) project. They have also frozen funds so that we cant supply foodgrains to the poor. We are not scared. I tell them that if they don’t want to give foodgrain for mid-day meals or funds, we will provide those ourselves but we will not stand your high-handedness” Mamata said.

She alleged that members of certain political parties were spending a lot of money to create divide among people on the basis of religions. Mamata asked people to be alert and to inform police if any such person was spotted. If police fail to do their duty, she asked people to approach her directly. “We don’t burn people to death who have come here to work. We don’t divide people on the basis of religion. If you see any suspicious person, inform the police. I will ask district police authorities to suitably reward such informers. I would also say that if you see police are not taking any action, dial 100 and inform police helpline about it. If that also doesn’t work, come to my residence with the complaint letter,” she said.

Early this month, Md Afrazul Khan, a 47-year-old labourer from Malda district of West Bengal, who had gone to Rajasthan looking for employment, had been brutally hacked, doused with kerosene and then set ablaze. The incident had been captured on camera and the video was made viral by the offender himself.