A group of Muslim women in Bankura has accused local BJP MLA Niladri Sekhar Dana of humiliating them when they went to him for help with the Annapurna Yojana, a financial aid scheme for women from distressed families. The allegations were first reported by The Wire. The MLA has denied making any insulting remarks.
According to The Wire, about 30 women from Khetardanga in Ward 19 of Bankura Municipality met Dana at his office near Bhairabsthan on the afternoon of Friday, October 2. They say he raised “Jai Shri Ram” slogans when he saw them. When they asked about their Annapurna money, they allege he told them Hindu women would be paid first and Muslim women later. One woman, Sharifi Bibi, said he also told them the party had not won with Muslim votes, so their issue would be looked at later. Several women also claimed that people with the MLA made obscene gestures at them and asked them to chant the slogan in return for the scheme’s benefits.
“We went expecting help, but instead we were humiliated,” said Nurjan Bibi, one of the women present.
The women’s main complaint is that they have not received the Rs 3,000 monthly payment promised under the scheme. The Wire reported that many say they have not got a single instalment since the BJP formed the government, and that delays have led to protests in several parts of Bengal.
The women told The Wire they had been sent from office to office. In the last week of September, they went to the Bankura Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), saying they had applied both online and offline. The SDO’s office told them to attend a “Seba Setu Abhijan”, a public outreach camp held from October 2 to 4. The women went to the camp at Godhuli Lodge on the first day with their documents, but were again sent on, this time to the MLA.
The Wire said most residents of Khetardanga are Muslim and depend on daily wages. Professor Pratip Mukherjee, a former head of the economics department at Bankura Sammilani College, told the outlet that many residents are manual labourers who find only irregular work at the railway goods shed or in Bankura’s markets, so families often struggle to make ends meet.
The women said the insult has stayed with them. Sabena Mondal and Reshma Bibi told The Wire that they and others in the neighbourhood could not eat after returning home. Women including Zarina Bibi, Hasina Bibi, Sahedun Bibi, Ayesha Bibi and Fulsura Bibi gathered at Mondal’s house to decide their next step. They plan to go to the Bankura SDO on October 6 to ask why their payments have not come. They also want to know whether the MLA was authorised to speak to them in that way because of their religion.
When The Wire contacted Dana, he accepted that he had said “Jai Shri Ram” but denied insulting any woman. He said he told the women their matter would be looked into. He added that many people were with him and that he could not take responsibility for anything they may have said.
