Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, will begin a dharna here on Friday in protest of what she claims is the Center’s withholding of the state’s dues.
Significant political controversy in the state has arisen from the Center’s withholding of dues, especially under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

“The dharna in the Maidan’s Red Road area will begin at 1 pm. Mamata Banerjee, our party supremo, will spearhead the protest. There will be additional senior party leaders in attendance, a top TMC official announced.

The seriousness of the situation has been highlighted by previous protests led by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and a group of party lawmakers, MPs, ministers, and MGNREGA workers at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, which were followed by a five-day sit-in outside Raj Bhavan here.

In order to improve the livelihood security of rural households, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005 mandates that guaranteed wage employment be provided for at least 100 days during a fiscal year.

TMC sources claim that the dharna is the third significant protest over the matter in front of the Lok Sabha elections.

According to sources, the protest might last for up to 48 hours, purposefully starting on February 5—the day the West Bengal budget session starts.

The most recent agitation is reminiscent of Abhishek Banerjee’s protest in New Delhi and his subsequent dharna outside Raj Bhavan in Kolkata, as well as a similar two-day sit-in that Banerjee herself organized in March of the previous year.