Under fire from Bengal BJP over MGNREGA remarks, Union minister Kapil Moreshwar Patil makes U-Turn

Facing flak from the BJP for claiming that he was unaware of any corruption in MGNREGA implementation by the Bengal government, Union minister Kapil Moreshwar Patil on Friday made a U-turn and said the Centre did receive several graft allegations involving the job scheme from this state. Patil, talking to reporters, also stated that the TMC government had not submitted any utilisation certificate on the funds spent under the MGNREGA scheme.

“There has been corruption in MNREGA; there have been complaints regarding it. They (the state government) have not submitted utilization certificates. What I meant was that I am yet to visit those places (where such allegations have been raised). Next time I am here, I will visit those areas,” Patil said.

The Union minister of state for panchayati raj had on Wednesday said that he won’t be able to make an off-hand remark on the allegations of corruption at the panchayat level in the state, and would have to check with officers.

His response had drawn sharp reactions from the West Bengal BJP leadership, which said Patil was unaware of the ground reality.

“I don’t know what he (Patil) said. Maybe because he is a minister of state, he is not well aware of the facts and ground realities. You (journalists) have to speak to the Union cabinet minister in charge of the department,” Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said.

BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh claimed that Patil might not know of corruption in MGNREGA implementation as central government officers were not doing their jobs properly.

“They (officers) came, stayed in hotels and submitted reports in a way block development officers wanted them to do. So it is quite natural that he (Patil) will not be aware of the ground reality,” he added.

Senior TMC leader Tapas Ray said Patil had spoken the truth, but after criticism from his own party, he had backtracked.

“The Union minister had said he is not aware of any corruption two days ago. As the Bengal BJP criticized him, he backtracked,” he said.