West Bengal to observe PM birthday as Annapurna Diwas

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 76th birthday, announcing the day would be celebrated every year as Annapurna Diwas, marking the distribution of a monthly allowance of Rs 3000 to women that was once guaranteed by the Prime Minister before the Bengal elections. More than 1.6 crore women have been receiving the monthly allowance, Government sources said.

Referring to the Prime Ministerial announcement that a list of 50 lakh beneficiaries of the PM housing scheme was being prepared, Adhikari said all the allottees in that respect would be women. In what could further cement BJP’s stranglehold on Bengal, Adhikari, during a programme, said, “the Prime Minister has announced that a list of beneficiaries is being prepared who will get new houses under the PM Awas Yojana... These 50 lakh allotments will be made in favour of women who will own them,” adding, “this day will be celebrated as Annapurna Diwas in Bengal every year ... We all wish our Yashaswi (celebrated) Prime Minister a long and prosperous life.”

The new Government had come not only to distribute allowances to women, he said, “we have come promising an all-round reform where no woman will be at the receiving end of any kind of discrimination or torture... No one will be spared if found guilty of torturing women... That is our priority,” announcing that the State had set up a commission chaired by retired Justice Samapti Chattopadhyay to provide justice to oppressed women. “We will not tolerate even a single case of cruelty or torture on women... That is our commitment,” he said.

The Chief Minister was addressing a 60 thousand strong crowd at Central Park in Salt Lake, with many more thousands joining virtually from 500 locations across the State. Bengal was celebrating the Prime Minister’s birthday with illumination of lamps throughout the State.