Junior Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar’s recent remarks at a BJP workers’ conference in East Burdwan, West Bengal, stirred controversy when he suggested that women interested in receiving benefits from a proposed Annapurna Yojana would need to become BJP members. Majumdar encouraged party workers to tell women that joining BJP could help bring Prime Minister Modi’s administration to Bengal, adding that membership would be a factor in eligibility for the scheme if BJP came to power.
The Annapurna Yojana, a BJP-promised initiative, proposes monthly financial assistance of Rs 3,000 to women in West Bengal. This pledge, initially raised by opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari ahead of the 2023 panchayat elections, is similar to the West Bengal government’s Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, which provides direct financial support to women in the state.
The comments sparked strong reactions from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh dismissed the pledge as “deceptive politics,” noting that central funds for existing schemes like the 100-day work program had already been delayed or withheld. TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee condemned Majumdar’s statements as unconstitutional and called for his removal from the Union cabinet, arguing that his words represented a misuse of official power for political gains. Banerjee criticized BJP’s approach, highlighting that the West Bengal government’s social welfare programs had been implemented without political prerequisites.
Majumdar also highlighted the state’s decision not to adopt the Ayushman Bharat scheme, a central government health initiative that would benefit the elderly, as part of his speech, while noting that a strong BJP membership base could help bring the party into power in the state.
