Supreme Court Verdict on MGNREGA Fund Release in West Bengal: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) today hailed the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the Central Government’s plea challenging the Calcutta High Court’s order on the resumption of MGNREGA work in West Bengal, calling it a “historic victory” for the people of Bengal and a resounding defeat for what it termed the Centre’s “politics of punishment.”

In a strongly worded statement released on its official handle on X, the TMC said the Supreme Court’s “clear and unequivocal verdict marks the end of an unjust and politically motivated financial blockade.”

The party accused the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre of depriving Bengal’s rural poor of their livelihoods by withholding MGNREGA funds for over three years — an act it said “defied both morality and constitutional propriety.”

Describing the Centre’s actions as “the politics of punishment driven by a Bangla-Birodhi Zamindari mindset,” the party asserted that the top court’s ruling vindicated Bengal’s long-held position.

“The Court has said what Bengal has been saying all along — you can check, you can question, but you cannot choke people’s livelihoods in the name of oversight. The Court has upheld the Calcutta High Court’s verdict in its entirety, confirming Bengal’s stand as both legal and just,” the statement read.

The party credited Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s leadership and the “tireless advocacy” of TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee for turning the dispute into a larger fight for constitutional rights.

Abhishek Banerjee, reacting separately, described the Supreme Court verdict as “another crushing defeat for the Bohiragoto Bangla-Birodhi Zamindars.”

He said the ruling reaffirmed the rights of Bengal’s rural poor, who were punished for their political choices.

“When they failed to defeat us politically, the BJP weaponised deprivation. They imposed an economic blockade on Bengal, snatching away the wages of the poor and punishing the people for standing by Maa, Mati, Manush,” Banerjee said, adding that the verdict was “a democratic slap on the face of those who believed Bengal could be bullied, coerced, or silenced.”

Earlier in the day, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta dismissed the Centre’s plea challenging the Calcutta High Court’s directive on the MGNREGA scheme. [Also Know - Supreme Court Refuses to Interfere With Delhi HC Order Reviving Crocs’ Passing Off Suits]

The bench reportedly asked the Centre, “Will you withdraw the petition or should we dismiss it?” before proceeding to reject the plea.

This effectively upheld the High Court’s June order, which had directed the resumption of 100 days’ work in Bengal and asked the Centre to release pending funds.

The supreme court verdict clears the way for the restoration of the rural employment scheme in the state, stalled for nearly four years.

The Centre had frozen funds in December 2021, citing corruption and misuse of funds, while the state government maintained that the move was politically motivated and unconstitutional.

In its June verdict, the Calcutta High Court had stated that while the Centre was free to impose conditions to ensure transparency, it could not withhold the scheme altogether.