“A Bill has been introduced that removed the name of Mahatma Gandhi from MGNREGA. Are we forgetting even the father of the nation now?” Banerjee said while speaking at the Bengal Global Bengal Summit on Thursday.
“We have therefore decided to rename our Karmashree scheme after Mahatma Gandhi. We seek nothing except respect. And, if some do not know how to honour Mahatma Gandhi, we will demonstrate what true respect means. We will give work under this Karmashree scheme for more than 75 days per year,” Banerjee said. “I know how to give respect to Mahatma ji, Netaji and Rabindranath Tagore and every freedom fighter of Bengal.”
She claimed that two crore jobs have been generated in the state as per Niti Aayog data but Bengal is still shown in poor light due to political reasons.
Talking about the potential of Bengal as a global business destination, Banerjee said Bengal is a gateway to South East Asia, the Northeast and eastern India. “Bengal is also the gateway to countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar and also the east Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha.” She said Bengal has progressed considerably in the IT sector with global players setting up shop in the state.
