Jal Jeevan Mission failed, Ganga not cleaned, BJP's ‘washing machine’ active in WB: Jairam Ramesh

Posing a series of questions to prime minister Narendra Modi on a day he is addressing four poll rallies in West Bengal, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday, 12 May asked why the Jal Jeevan Mission failed in 40 per cent of households in Hooghly.

The "washing machine" of BJP is active in the state ahead of polls, he said.

In a post on X, Congress’ General Secretary Ramesh also raised questions on the cleaning of Ganga and accused the union government of withholding Rs 7000 crore of ration funds.

He said 4,35,311 households in Hooghly remain deprived despite the scheme's 2024 deadline for providing connections.

"Districts near Hooghly also have very high concentrations of arsenic and fluoride in the groundwater, which can cause severe health complications. Why is the Modi government ignoring the plight of the people of Hooghly" the Congress leader asked.

He also questioned why Ganga has not been cleaned even after spending Rs 15,000 crore.

"From its launch in June 2014, till September 2023, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has installed treatment plants that can treat just 20 per cent of the sewage that flows into the river," he said.

Ramesh said the Centre has approved projects worth 37,396 crores but only 14,745 crores have actually been released to states as of June 2023, and only 11 sewage treatment plants have been set up in West Bengal.

"Last year, the Central Pollution Board declared the Ganga as the most polluted river in India. Can PM Modi explain why his government's flagship project has failed so miserably,” Ramesh asked.

He also said Centre has been withholding National Food Security Act funds from West Bengal for not displaying PM Modi's photogram on ration shops, and mentioned Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh and his son who accused of being involved in Rs 12 crore in the Bhatpara Naihati Cooperative Bank scam, and joined the BJP ahead of the polls.

"The BJP's washing machine has become active once again in West Bengal," he said.

"Can the PM shed any light on why action against Arjun Singh was stalled? How can the BJP make pretensions to eradicating corruption when their "washing machine" is clearly at full spin in West Bengal?" he added.

Singh, who had earlier joined the BJP in 2019 after quitting TMC and defeating the then TMC candidate on the Barrackpore seat, returned to TMC again in 2022 even as he remained a BJP MP on Parliament record. 

He announced that he was leaving the TMC days after being dropped from the TMC's list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.