Rising Bengal: Mamata Banerjee highlights achievements of TMC govt, says social justice is her mission

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee claimed on Friday that the physical infrastructure growth in West Bengal is more than that of India. The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader, who was speaking at the Rising Bengal event organised by Network18 on Friday, also highlighted a plethora of issues that her government has been working on while listing the achievements of her government. She also said that the per capita income of the state has crossed Rs one lakh as compared to previous figures of Rs 69,000, however, the gross domestic product of the state was reduced from eight percent in 2015-16 to 7.8 percent in 2016-17.

#EXCLUSIVE -- West Bengal Chief Minister @MamataOfficial lists out the achievements at #RisingBengal event pic.twitter.com/eDTlG57gV5

— News18 (@CNNnews18) August 18, 2017

[caption id=“attachment_3946679” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Mamata Banerjee at the Rising Bengal event. News18[/caption] Speaking about the Gramin Awas Yojana, Banerjee said that 2,82,837 houses have already been built in the state. With respect to the employment rate, she said that the index of industrial production also risen in Bengal and that the state has managed to create 81 lakh jobs in last six years. Banerjee also said that apart from industrial growth, the state is giving equal importance to agriculture. She mentioned some of the important schemes launched by her government in the agriculture sector. “My government has given rice at Rs 2 per kilogramme and started the Khadya Sathi scheme,” she said. According to this scheme, almost 90 percent of the state’s population would get rice and wheat at Rs 2 per kilogramme and over 50 lakh people would get the same at half the market price. The West Bengal chief minister also emphasised on changing socio-economic factors in order to gauge the successes of her government in the state. She said that the school dropout rate and early child marriage has almost stopped in the state. Taking a dig at the Centre for allocating Rs 100 crore for the Beti Bachao scheme, she said that Bengal government has granted Rs 5,000 crore for its Kanyashree project. The project aims at improving the status and the well-being of the girl child in West Bengal. “West Bengal has the advantage of human capital, the balance of markets and even social infrastructure, which helps the state in the development of its people,” she said. Banerjee added that for development, a government must work for the upliftment of the minorities, the Scheduled Castes/Tribes and the economically backward. She urged people to help develop the weaker sections of the society because they will ultimately benefit the state. While giving an example, the chief minister said that if a girl child is nurtured, she can join a small scale industry. “The young generation, the girl child and the economically weaker sections of the society are our future and must be nurtured,” she said while also saying that social justice is her mission. While talking about her party, Banerjee said that the TMC is a grassroots party and almost 97 percent people of the state enjoy benefits given by the TMC government. “We don’t speak but we work silently,” she added.