New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya, on Wednesday, accused the West Bengal government of deliberately “stalling” the implementation of numerous Central government schemes across various ministries.
He was asking a supplementary question to the Education Minister.
Raising the issue during the question hour in the Rajya Sabha, Bhattacharya highlighted that schemes from almost every Central ministry are facing obstacles in the state, depriving citizens — particularly from tribal and minority communities — of essential benefits.
In a pointed question directed at the Ministry of Education, Bhattacharya sought details on West Bengal’s participation in the Vidyanjali scheme compared to other states. Vidyanjali, an initiative of the Ministry of Education, aims to strengthen government and government-aided schools by encouraging community and private sector involvement.
Volunteers, including professionals, retired teachers, alumni, NGOs, and corporates, contribute services, resources, materials, or CSR support to enhance co-scholastic activities and overall school development.
Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary provided a stark response, stating that the West Bengal government has effectively “shunned the scheme entirely”.
He revealed that out of approximately 82,159 government schools in the state, only 55 schools have been onboarded onto the Vidyanjali portal. This minimal participation stands in sharp contrast to the nationwide rollout, where hundreds of thousands of schools across other states have embraced the programme to benefit millions of students through volunteer-driven support.
Bhattacharya’s intervention underscores ongoing political friction between the BJP-led Centre and the Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal government, with repeated allegations from opposition leaders that the state administration is obstructing Central welfare programs.
The MP argued that such non-cooperation is causing significant losses to the state’s residents, who are unable to access flagship initiatives in education, health, and development sectors.
The Vidyanjali programme, launched to foster direct community engagement in schools, has seen substantial success elsewhere, with over eight lakh schools on-boarded nationally in recent updates and lakhs of volunteers registered.
Chaudhary’s figures highlight a glaring disparity in West Bengal, raising questions about state-level priorities in educational collaboration with the Centre.
(IANS)
