KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee launched her party's latest outreach programme titled 'Didir Suraksha Kavach' (sister's protective shield) ahead of the Panchayat polls slated to be held later this year.
Around 3.5 lakh Trinamool Congress workers and 350 party leaders comprising of MPs and MLAs will act as 'Didir Dyut' (sister's messenger) and carry out the programme's objective of reaching out to 10 crore people across the state. The party's lawmakers and other leaders have been asked to spend 10 days in villages to identify the ground-level problems and find out whether the state government's flagship projects are reaching them.
The new initiative follows two similar outreach drives from the past —'Didi Ke Bolo' (tell your sister) and 'Duare Sarkar' (government at your doorstep) and comes amid a series of corruption charges levelled against TMC functionaries.
"Didir Suraksha Kavach is another shape of Duare Sarkar. The state government is doing its own job. But as the ruling political party, we cannot skip responsibilities. Because more than 85 gram panchayats are dominated by our party. The government's doorstep initiative sorted many issues. The new outreach drive will focus on other issues which the government is yet to address,’’ said chief minister Mamata Banerjee while addressing a workers’ meet in south Kolkata’s Nazrul Mancha.
The drive will continue for two months covering both the rural and semi-urban pockets of the state. The initiative is said to be an initiative mainly aimed at the rural polls at a time when the ruling TMC is facing large-scale complaints of corruption in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), while the CPI(M), continues its resurgence as the second political outfit in the state.
Asked whether the new outreach drive is aimed at the panchayat polls, Mamata said the Duare Sarkar drive was initiated after the 2021 Assembly elections. "It is our part of a continuous effort for the development of the state. Elections have nothing to with it."
Replying to her frequent allegation against the BJP over "destroying" the federal structure of the country, the Bengal CM said, "My ideology is clear. We want unity in diversity. The federal structure of the country must be strengthened."
Meanwhile, Mamata's nephew and TMC's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said, "The party will start the new initiative from January 11 and continue it for the next 60 days. Our party leaders will spend 10 days at villages, and our 3.5 lakh party workers reach out to the people in remote pockets to verify whether the state government’s welfare projects are reaching them."