The Kailashahar District Congress on Tuesday submitted a memorandum to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) demanding the immediate disbursement of social welfare pensions that have allegedly remained unpaid for the past three months.
A protest rally was organized from the Town Hall premises in Kailashahar under Unakoti district, with party workers and supporters marching to the SDM's office, where they staged a demonstration. The rally was led by Congress MLA Birajit Sinha, District Congress president Mohammad Badruzzaman, Congress leaders Rudrendu Bhattacharjee, Runu Mia, Abhijit Debnath, Ratan Dutta, and other party functionaries.
After the demonstration, a Congress delegation met SDM Shantimoy Debbarma and submitted a memorandum outlining their demands.
While, addressing the gathering, MLA Birajit Sinha said that social welfare pensions were introduced across the country during the tenure of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and continue to benefit various categories of vulnerable citizens. He alleged that the present BJP government has withheld pension payments for the last three months, causing immense hardship to poor beneficiaries.
Sinha warned that if the pensions are not released immediately, the Congress would organize a massive protest in Agartala involving thousands of party workers and supporters. He further threatened demonstrations and a gherao of the concerned minister.
The Congress legislator also launched a sharp attack on Social Welfare Minister Tinku Roy, alleging irregularities in the distribution of pension benefits. He claimed that many genuine beneficiaries were being deprived of pensions while undeserving individuals were being granted benefits. Sinha further alleged that pension application forms and sanction memos were being distributed according to the minister's personal discretion.
The protest march included several pension seekers, including persons with disabilities, elderly citizens, widows, deserted women, and visually impaired individuals who claimed they had not been receiving their entitled benefits.
During the meeting with the SDM, District Congress president Mohammad Badruzzaman also raised the issue of the deteriorating 15-kilometre road stretch connecting Old Dak Bungalow in Kailashahar to Rangaouti. He stated that the road has remained in an unusable condition for a long time, affecting nearly 30,000 residents and thousands of daily commuters.
Badruzzaman urged the administration to undertake immediate repair work and make the road motorable. He warned that if renovation work does not begin soon, the District Congress would launch a larger agitation in Kailashahar.