For several decades, politics in West Bengal has been centered on Centre-State relations and the premise that the Union government deprives West Bengal of its rightful dues. Except for a brief period from 2009 to 2012 when the Trinamool Congress was part of the Congress led UPA II government at the Centre, political parties ruling States have not been in power at the Centre. The phrase ‘Centre depriving us’ was a recurrent discourse among Left politicians during 34 years of Left Front rule and since 2011, it has been reiterated by the Trinamool Congress government
Over the past few weeks, the Trinamool Congress leadership has raised its pitch on payment of pending MGNREGA wages to workers in the State. Funds due to West Bengal for the 100-day job guarantee scheme were stopped by the Centre in December 2021, and the scheme has come to a complete halt in the State, triggering widespread rural distress and migration.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had written to the Centre on the issue and raised the issue personally with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Trinamool Congress chairperson also sat on a dharna in March 2023 for nearly two days demanding release of funds to MGNREGA and other central schemes. However, the intensity of protests over the past few weeks is something which has not been evident in the past. The entire party leadership rallied behind Abhishek Banerjee on October 2 and October 3 when he took the protests over MGNREGA dues to Delhi.
