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The BJP’s remarks came after Mamata Banerjee accused the Central government of not providing financial assistance to West Bengal for disaster management efforts.
The BJP and TMC sparred over allocation of Central funds for disaster management. (File image)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday alleged that the Centre had allocated over Rs 3,000 crore to West Bengal, but these funds were illegally and unconstitutionally diverted to panchayats by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government.
The BJP’s remarks came after Mamata Banerjee arrived in North Bengal on Monday to review the situation in the hills, Terai and Dooars, which were hit by severe floods and landslides in October that left over 40 people dead. Banerjee accused the Centre of neglecting Bengal and not providing financial assistance in the last five years to tackle natural calamities.
Addressing a press conference, West Bengal Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, alleged that the Ministry of Home Affairs had allocated Rs 3,978 crore for disaster management efforts in the state, but Mamata Banerjee had illegally diverted funds and handed them over to panchayats.
“Even though the Union Home Ministry allocated over Rs 3,000 crore to West Bengal for disaster management, the TMC government has unethically diverted those funds and handed them over to the panchayats. A portion of this money is now being illegally and unconstitutionally siphoned off under a scheme called Banglar Bari,” said BJP IT Department in-charge Amit Malviya.
Even though the Union Home Ministry allocated over ₹3,000 crore to West Bengal for disaster management, the TMC government has unethically diverted those funds and handed them over to the panchayats.A portion of this money is now being illegally and unconstitutionally siphoned… pic.twitter.com/pBoKbXDpXH
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 10, 2025
“Had this disaster relief fund been properly utilised for the people of North Bengal, Darjeeling, and the hill regions, West Bengal would not be facing such a dire situation today. The TMC government is committing yet another act of corruption and financial embezzlement, fully backed by Mamata Banerjee herself,” he added.
Mamata Banerjee’s Charge At BJP
While addressing an administrative meeting in North Bengal, Mamata Banerjee accused the Centre of not providing any financial assistance as the state faced one calamity after another in the last four years.
Banerjee said the Centre ignored Bengal’s demands for Rs 1,200 crore for floods and landslides in North Bengal in July-August 2021, Rs 1,402 crore for floods and landslides in North Bengal in the next month, Rs 1,049 crore due to Cyclone Remal last year, and Rs 1,685 crore due to Cyclone Dana.
Smt. @MamataOfficial visited North Bengal once again, her third visit since the devastating floods, to personally review the ongoing relief, restoration, and rehabilitation efforts across affected districts.Over the past few years, the region has faced one calamity after… pic.twitter.com/rBPk7s9V5W
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) November 10, 2025
“The Centre has not sent a single rupee in financial assistance after such a huge disaster,” she said. “They spread lies on Twitter and do not understand Bengal a little bit. A day will come when the public will not forgive them.”
She also said the SDRF came under her government’s purview and the Centre was bound to give Bengal its GST dues. She said the Centre was withholding Rs 1.80 lakh crore of Bengal’s funds and was doing whatever it wanted under the pretext of GST.
She also criticised the government over the ‘Vande Mataram’ row, saying both Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. The controversy was triggered after Karnataka BJP leader Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri claimed that “Vande Mataram should have been the national anthem”.
Meanwhile, Malviya also alleged that the Centre provided nearly Rs 30,000 crore to the state under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) from 2014 to 2023 to build houses for the poor, but the state government diverted disaster management funds to give people only Rs 1 lakh each to build houses.
“Each beneficiary must receive at least Rs 3 lakh, and the state government must publish a transparent list showing how the Rs 30,000 crore of central funds have actually been spent,” he said.
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
November 10, 2025, 18:24 IST
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