Month: September 2019

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee delivered some good news to State Government employees just before Durga Puja. Following the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, the minimum pay has been increased to Rs 17,990 per month. Earlier this was Rs 7,000. Gratuity has been increased to Rs 10 lakh from Rs 6 lakh.

She was speaking at a programme of the State Government Employees Federation at Netaji Indoor Stadium. The recommendations would be effective from January 1, 2020.

The band pay and grade pay mentioned in the previous pay commission have been abolished. The matters of house rent and medical compensation would be looked into, she said. She also said that to implement the new recommendations, the State Government would be spending an additional Rs 10,000 crore per year.

 Criticising the Left Front Government, she said that it had not implemented the recommendations even two years after they were submitted in 2006.

 Mamata Banerjee also spoke out against the policies of the Central Government. The new contributory pension was criticised. She said that it is only in Bangla that pension has been implemented. The Chief Minister also stood by the Central Government employees who have been affected by the Centre’s decision on disinvestment. A meeting would be held with those employees on September 23.  

Mamata Banerjee today wrote a poem in Bengali dedicated to the youth. It is titled ‘Notun Projonmer Jonno’ (‘For the Youth’) and has been published on Facebook.

She wrote about her dreams for them, and exhorted them to rise up to the challenges of the times.

Time and again she has written about her views on the youth. This is the latest poem on the subject. Mamata Banerjee has written 89 books, including memoirs and poetry collections, the latter in Bengali, English, Urdu, Hindi and Ol-Chiki.

Here is the link to the poem:

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today spoke up against the anti-people policies of the Central Government. She spoke up on the issue during her speech at the end of her protest march from Shyambazar to Sinthi More today.

She raged against the BJP Government’s policies destroying the economy. She also protested against the Centre’s decision to divest from many profitable PSUs and the decision to shift the headquarters of two banks out from Kolkata as a result of their being merged with other banks.

She also said, “Now you will understand what I had said before the elections, that the Centre will take away all the money from banks. Nobody is buying cars.

“Last year, two crore people became unemployed. The whole country is going through a crisis. Shopkeepers don’t have money, traders don’t have money. Industries are closing down.

“They are saying that they will privatise the Railways. They will privatise BSNL. The latter’s employees are not getting salaries for three months. Employees of Air India are not getting salaries for seven months. Ordnance factories are being privatised. They are trying to destroy the banks.”

She further said, “The growth in GDP is 5 per cent, which is the lowest in Asia. It is even lower than Pakistan and Bangladesh.

“They are instigating the CBI and the ED to act against their political rivals. They are acting as if they are only ones who are honest. Five years ago they had no money and look at what they have built now – a dazzling party office like a big shopping mall”.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday issued a challenge to the Centre over the National Register of Citizens (NRC), saying the Centre won’t be able to shut Bengal’s mouth. Mamata said those trying to divide the people in the name of NRC are playing with fire, adding that she would never allow the exercise to be conducted in her state.

Speaking at an anti-NRC rally after holding a protest march, Mamata Banerjee said people were still being asked to give proof of their identity after so many years of independence.

“We will never allow NRC in Bengal. We will not allow them to divide the people on religious and caste lines. We will not accept NRC in Assam. They have silenced the people of Assam by using police administration but they cannot silence Bengal,” she said here.

“19 lakh people have been left out of the final list (of Assam NRC), including Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists. It’s 72 years of independence and still we’ve to give proof of our identity. Why?” she asked.

“You won’t be able to shut Bengal’s mouth as you did in Assam by using your police,” she added, issuing a warning to the Centre. Alleging that there was an attempt to divide the people in the name of religion, Mamata Banerjee said the Centre was trying to preach faith now.

“Suddenly, you are teaching us religion as if we don’t celebrate Eid, Durga Puja, Muharram and Chhath Puja. For the sake of religion, for the sake of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians, I don’t agree with NRC,” she said.

Mamata Banerjee, who has been one of the vociferous critics of the NRC, even dared the BJP and its leaders to touch one citizen of Bangla in the name of the NRC.

The healthcare infrastructure in Bangla has improved by leaps and bounds over the last eight years. Healthcare at government hospitals has become free, Mamata Banerjee shared on her social media pages today.

She wrote:

For the people of West Bengal, treatment, diagnostics, and drugs is NOW completely FREE in all government hospitals. In addition, FREE treatment upto Rs 5 lakh in Private hospitals is also made available to 7.5 crore citizens of Bengal under Swasthya Sathi scheme.

Since its launch, a total of 6.53 lakh people have been treated under this scheme and Govt has spent close to Rs 670 crore on it. Now, 1,472 hospitals including 983 private hospitals providing treatment to Swasthya Sathi beneficiaries in the State.