Their biriyani, alcohol budgets exceeded: BJP secy after TMC ends sit-in

"No one was present, and their (TMC's) Biriyani and alcohol budgets have exceeded," West Bengal BJP Secretary Priyanka Tibrewal alleged after Trinamool Congress lifted its protest outside Raj Bhavan here.

"It is not like he (Abhishek Banerjee) withdrew the protest, he could not hold on to the people there, no one was present, and their (TMC's) Biriyani and alcohol budgets have exceeded," Tibrewal told ANI on Monday evening.

Tibrewal further attacked Abhishek Banerjee, saying, "Abhishek Banerjee wants to do selective protest, now he is exhausted in just 5 days but the job seekers in West Bengal have been sitting on Red Road for 2 years," she said.

"Abhishek Banerjee is asking the central government to pay the money that has already been paid by the central government once. If he goes through the MGNREGA Act, it is mentioned that if the accounts are not given to the central government, then the central government can stop the funds until those accounts are given," she said.

Earlier on Monday, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee said, "West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose has promised to answer our questions in 24 hours. As per the advice of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and other senior leaders, we are withdrawing the protest against the Central Government over the allocation of funds for MGNREGA and other social security schemes for West Bengal."

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) had been staging a protest at the Raj Bhavan against the Central government, alleging a delay in fund allocation under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and other social security schemes for West Bengal.

The TMC leaders during the protest said that the march to the Raj Bhavan had been organized to draw Governor's attention to the plight of the poor people of the state who have been deprived of their rights by the BJP-led central government.