Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], January 15 : Trinamool Congress (TMC) National General Secretary and Member of Parliament Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday met veteran Bengali actor Ranjit Mallick at his residence in Kolkata.
Banerjee felicitated Mallick and presented the West Bengal government's 15-year report card titled 'Unnayoner Panchali', along with a letter from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Abhishek Banerjee recalled his personal association with Mallick's work and underlined the cultural legacy of the senior actor.
"A childhood memory is associated with him. The first film I ever saw as a child was 'Gurudakshina'. His films that I have watched were mostly released before my birth. His contributions towards the Bengali film industry will remain written in history in golden letters for the coming centuries," Banerjee said.
The TMC leader stressed that the visit was not political in nature, but aimed at sharing the government's development record.
"I came here to hand him the report card of our government. It entails the development works that we have done and the schemes that we have introduced in various sectors like social security, healthcare, education, infrastructure, tourism, and agriculture," Abhishek Banerjee said.
Referring to the state's financial challenges, the TMC leader alleged that the Centre has withheld large sums owed to West Bengal.
"The State government had to work under tremendous financial stress, especially in the last five years. Funds worth Rs 2 lakh crore have been blocked by the Centre. Despite that, infrastructure development, Lakshmir Bhandar, and Swastha Sathi have been implemented," Banerjee said, accusing the Centre of giving the state "step-motherly treatment".
He also drew a comparison with the previous Left Front regime, claiming that state government employees faced salary delays during the CPI(M) tenure. Senior Minister Sobhandeb Chatterjee accompanied Banerjee during the visit.