Court agreed that evidence presented indicates corruption has occurred: Sukanta Majumdar on HC directive to resume MGNREGA
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 19 (ANI): Following the Calcutta High Court's directive to the Centre to resume disbursal of MGNREGA funds in West Bengal from August 1, Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar on Wednesday said that it was too early to comment on this, but the court agreed that the evidence presented indicated corruption has occurred in the disbursal of funds.
Sukanta Majumdar said, 'It is too early to comment on this, but a few things have already been decided. Firstly, the court has agreed that the evidence presented indicates corruption has occurred. The court has expressed that if the central government wishes, it can conduct inquiries in any district. The state government did not take any action against the corruption. Therefore, I believe one should closely examine the court's findings, and only then should someone consider approaching the Supreme Court.'
TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee said that the Calcutta High Court's order today to restart MGNREGA in Bengal is a 'blow to the BJP's politics of revenge' and said that the Court's directive today is a 'step' toward restoring justice.
On Wednesday, the Calcutta High Court directed the Centre to resume the disbursal of MGNREGA funds in West Bengal from August 1 while allowing the Union government to set necessary safeguards to prevent corruption.
The matter will come up for further hearing after August 15.
Between 2022-23 and 2025-26, Bengal was supposed to receive allocations. From 2016 to the next six years, West Bengal was allocated Rs 50,593 crore under the 100 Days Work Scheme (MGNREGA). Allegations of irregularities surfaced in works amounting to only Rs 9.20 crore, against which action was also taken.
All related documents and records have been submitted to the Ministry of Rural Development.
The court highlighted that the 100-day work scheme is a long-term, centrally funded project where money is directly transferred to workers' bank accounts. It stressed the importance of resuming the scheme in the public interest.
A division bench led by Chief Justice T. S. Sivagnanam observed that while instances of fund misuse had been proven in four districts, the suspension of the entire scheme for three years was unjustifiable.
BJP leader Amit Malviya welcomed the HC Verdict, calling it a huge blow to the Mamata Banerjee government.
'In a landmark ruling, the Calcutta High Court has ordered that the MGNREGA scheme in West Bengal must restart from 1st August 2025 -- a huge blow to the Mamata Banerjee government and a massive win in the fight against corruption. Here's what the verdict means: The scheme cannot be kept in abeyance indefinitely just because the State misused it. Control will now rest with the Central Government for strict monitoring -- Mamata Banerjee will no longer be able to loot. No retrospective payments -- only genuine beneficiaries will receive fresh entitlements. All recovered money from the scam will go to the Consolidated Fund of India, not to TMC's coffers. Since the Act itself hasn't been scrapped, the benefits must reach the poor -- and the Court has ensured that they will. This is a tight slap on TMC's corruption-ridden governance. The poor of Bengal will now get what is rightfully theirs. But make no mistake -- Mamata Banerjee will do everything to stall its implementation... because she cannot tolerate a system she cannot manipulate,' he posted on X.
The Trinamool Congress also welcomed the verdict, claiming that it vindicates the party's stand.
'The Calcutta High Court has directed the Centre to resume MGNREGA in Bengal from August 1, a clear acknowledgement of the injustice faced by 59 lakh job card holders. Under the leadership of CM Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee. We fought relentlessly against this discrimination. Today's verdict vindicates our stand and marks a crucial victory for Bengal's people,' the TMC posted on X. (ANI)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
19 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Justice Varma row: Citing videos, panel flags ‘contradiction' in former private secy's ‘only learnt of burnt notes days later' claim
The three-judge committee probing the discovery of currency notes during a fire at the official residence of former Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma relied on videos of the incident to punch holes in claims by his then private secretary, Rajinder Singh Karki, that he only learnt of the news 'six to seven days' later and said that the statement 'does not inspire confidence'. The Supreme Court-appointed committee comprising Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice G S Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, and Justice Anu Sivaraman, judge of the Karnataka High Court, concluded in its report that 'the factum of…Karki having been instructed by Justice Varma to stay at night at the residence is…a matter of record…' and that 'his presence till early morning on 15.03.2025 at the residence of Justice Varma is fully established'. The report, a copy of which is with The Indian Express, said that 'being the senior most employee at the site', Karki had a detailed conversation with Justice Varma at 1.23 am on March 15. This, the report added, 'would be clear from his call details…which has been received from Justice Varma's phone No…It is also come on record that though he had been asked to stay back at the residence, but no instructions were given to him that he could leave in the morning.' The report indicting Justice Verma was formally submitted to then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on May 4, following which it was forwarded to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The report pointed out that the first of these videos, a 67-second one, made by Delhi Police Head Constable Roop Chand, allegedly on the instructions of his superior, Station House Officer Umesh Malik, 'has not been disputed ever by Justice Varma'. A similar video of about 70 seconds was also made by one Head Constable Sunil Kumar. The videos were 'shown to the independent eye witnesses including the fire/police personnel who were at the spot who have vouched for the same. The witness No.6 Manoj Mehlawat, the Station Officer of Delhi Fire Services had also admitted that it is his voice in the… (first) video… wherein he is heard saying 'Mahatama Gandhi me aag lag rahi hai bhai'…The above reference is thus to the currency notes of Rs.500/- denomination having got affected in the fire since the image of Mahatama Gandhi figures on Rs.500/- currency note,' the report added. It added that 'at the end of the (first) video…there is an audio reference to a person calling out the name of 'Rahil' the house staff employee and since the video being shot is at the entrance of the store room, Mr. Karki, has admitted in his examination that it might be his voice. Similarly, when it was put to Rahil (Witness No 35 Mohammad Rahil, CA, Co-terminus, posted at the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma) that his name is being called out, he admitted that it was Mr. Karki calling out to him'. The report adds, 'It is thus apparent that both Mr. Karki and Rahil were present in front of the store room and were eye witnesses to the factum of currency having been burnt and present in the store room and their explanation as such that they were kept away from the entrance of the store room by the fire personnel cannot be accepted. Rahil…has also, while being confronted with (the video)….admitted that the store room is the same place where the fire incident took place and there are huge stacks which caught fire.' Relying on the video and calls between him and Justice Varma, the report said, 'Karki's explanation as such that he came to know about the burnt currency in the house for the first time after six to seven days after the fire incident does not inspire confidence as it is his categorical deposition that he had not seen the burnt currency notes though shown in the video…which had been confronted to him.' The report said that regarding his voice in the first video calling out the name of Rahil, Karki had explained that he was not present at the spot but was standing at a distance, in the backyard of the bungalow on the deck. 'However, from the said video and audio, it is apparent that he was very much present in the front of the store room when the videos were being shot by the fireman and the police personnel and the same calling out of the name of Rahil is also reflected in Video…taken by Head Constable Sunil Kumar,' the report stated. It also pointed out the 'contradiction' in Karki's claim that after meeting the Delhi High Court Deputy Registrar Sandeep Kumar Sharma in the evening on March 15, he had not gone anywhere as he had 'household work to do…'. The report said, this is 'in contradiction to the fact that he was present at the site of the store room since it has already come on record that the store room was inspected on 15.03.2025 evening at 9.00 PM by Naresh Chander Garg, Registrar-cum-Secretary to the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.' The committee said 'these contradictions from Mr. Karki's statement are, thus, being highlighted to show that his presence at the house, as such, continued throughout the night admittedly and, therefore, his explanation that he was not in any way connected with the cleaning up of the debris from the fire in the store area stands contradicted by the CRPF guards W (witness) -28 Sunil Kumar and W-30 C.G. Rawat, who stated to the contrary.' The committee noted that 10 eyewitnesses—six fire service personnel and four Delhi Police personnel—had testified before it about the presence of cash in the store room. On the alleged removal of the burnt cash from the scene of the fire, the report said, 'A conjunctive reading of the statements of eye witnesses, electronic evidence and the circumstantial evidence, which has come on record, as explained supra and the failure of Justice Varma and his personal staff to explain the omissions, contradictions and embellishment, noticed in their statements, this committee is compelled to hold by way of strong inferential evidence on record that the most trusted personnel of domestic staff i.e. Rahil/Hanuman Parshad Sharma (posted in Justice Varma's residence) and Rajinder Singh Karki, Private Secretary to Justice Varma were instrumental in removing the burnt money/cash from the store room during the wee hours of 15.03.2025 sometime after the firemen/Delhi Police personnel had left the premises.' Ananthakrishnan G. is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. He has been in the field for over 23 years, kicking off his journalism career as a freelancer in the late nineties with bylines in The Hindu. A graduate in law, he practised in the District judiciary in Kerala for about two years before switching to journalism. His first permanent assignment was with The Press Trust of India in Delhi where he was assigned to cover the lower courts and various commissions of inquiry. He reported from the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India during his first stint with The Indian Express in 2005-2006. Currently, in his second stint with The Indian Express, he reports from the Supreme Court and writes on topics related to law and the administration of justice. Legal reporting is his forte though he has extensive experience in political and community reporting too, having spent a decade as Kerala state correspondent, The Times of India and The Telegraph. He is a stickler for facts and has several impactful stories to his credit. ... Read More
The Print
25 minutes ago
- The Print
Prime accused with criminal records extorted Rs 1,000 from victim post gang rape in Gopalpur: Police
The gang rape case, which sparked nationwide outrage, is currently being investigated by the CID Crime Branch. Personnel of Gopalpur police earlier arrested the 10 accused including four minors. A CID team led by Crime Against Women and Children Wing IG, S Shyni, visited the place of occurrence for the second consecutive day on Thursday. The prime accused, a B Tech dropout who was out on bail in an attempt to murder case, had come to Odisha from Bengaluru where he worked in a factory, they said. Bhubaneswar, Jun 19 (PTI) The 10 accused, who allegedly raped a college student at Gopalpur on June 15, also extorted Rs 1,000 from the victim and her male companion after the sexual assault, investigators said on Thursday. Police said the team collected pieces of evidence like samples of sand, cigarette stubs and several other materials used by the accused persons and the 20-year-old victim. The investigating team also has a plan to collect DNA samples of all the 10 accused who are residents of three villages under two police station areas. The victim's male companion who is the lone witness to the crime was also questioned, and his statement was recorded both in audio and video format, police said. The Crime Against Women and Children Wing has also spoken to the victim and counselled her. It was alleged that three people raped her in turns and the others captured her male companion. The police said that all 10 arrested accused were between 17 to 24 years of age and the prime accused is a B Tech dropout having criminal records. Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M said that the prime accused, 23-year-old Pramod Nayak, hailed from a village under Purusottampur police station area. He was working at an electronic goods factory near Bengaluru and had come to his village on leave. He was out on bail in an attempt to murder case and booked in a bomb-making matter registered at Puroruttampur police station, the SP said. The police in a statement said that on Sunday (June 15), Nayak asked his friends to go to Gopalpur. After reaching Gopalpur on three motorbikes around 3.30 pm, they bathed in the sea and came to an isolated spot at 6 pm, half an hour before the couple arrived there. They assaulted the man and raped the woman around 8 pm, the statement said. Post-assault, the accused persons extorted Rs 1,000 from the survivor and her male friend through cash and UPI, it said. Meanwhile, the police prayed that the Juvenile Justice Board treat the four minor boys involved in the crime be treated as adults for trial. PTI AAM NN This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
The Hindu
25 minutes ago
- The Hindu
BJP Government's attempt to hide Keeladi findings shows its hatred for Tamil pride, claims CM Stalin
The BJP government's attempt to not accept the findings of the ancient excavation site of Keezhadi in Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga district by trying to put out of sight the final report only showed how much hatred it has for Tamil pride, Chief Minister M. K. Stalin alleged on Thursday (June 19, 2025). Despite all the studies backed with scientific results, the Central Government, which was 'trying to hide the cultural pride of the Tamils' by delaying the publication of the Keezhadi excavation report, has failed to produce additional evidence even two years after the final report was submitted, he claimed. Also read: Keeladi excavation report: Why are Centre and T.N. government at loggerheads? CM Stalin said in a letter to party workers that it is 'a blatant attack by the BJP government on Tamil culture and pride.' The BJP wanted to destroy the symbol of Dravidian culture by promoting the fictional Saraswati civilisation, which lacked credible evidence, while dismissing the proven antiquity of Tamil culture, the CM said. The artifacts obtained from the Keezhadi site were subjected to world-class scientific research and proved. 'The BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not accepted it. That is how much hatred for the Tamil pride is embedded in that party's policies,' CM Stalin said. He further said, 'As our leader Kalaignar (late Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi) said, the BJP, which looks at Tamil with bitterness and hatred, is continuously trying to hide the glory of Tamil culture unearthed at the Keezhadi excavation site.' The BJP government blatantly showed its hatred for Tamil culture by transferring the director who carried out the archaeological dig, Amarnath Ramakrishna, to Assam. Ramakrishna had submitted the initial report on the Keezhadi excavations to the Archaeological Survey of India in 2016 and he resumed work after a legal battle. 'Through the Keezhadi excavations it is clear that the Vaigai River civilisation of the Tamils is approximately 2,500 to 3,000 years old. This is not just conceptual information,' CM Stalin asserted. The objects dug out from Keezhadi were classified and sent to the best laboratories in the country and the world for scientific analysis, and based on that, Ramakrishna submitted a 982-page final report in 2023. 'Despite all these studies and scientific results, the BJP government is trying to hide the cultural pride of the Tamils by delaying the publication of the Keezhadi excavation results. It has failed to produce additional evidence even after two years since the final report was submitted,' he claimed. Opinion: Civilisation and its discontents He flayed the Opposition AIADMK for being silent on the present action of the Centre, as its leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami has 'pawned' the AIADMK to the BJP. In his letter, CM Stalin said the protests by the DMK youth wing and the ruling party's allies in Chennai and Madurai condemning the Centre's alleged rejection of the report on Keezhadi on June 18 would continue in order to echo in New Delhi.
