Mamata Banerjee Tears MGNREGA Note, Slams Centre's 'Insulting' New Norms

• West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee tore up a Union government letter outlining new MGNREGA norms, calling them "valueless and insulting."
• The Centre resumed conditional MGNREGA funding after three years, but Banerjee rejected the terms, accusing the Centre of using funds as a political lever.
• Banerjee announced West Bengal would run its own employment program, Karmashree, providing 100 days of work, rejecting "Delhi’s charity."
• She criticized the Centre's "absurd and restrictive" conditions, including mandatory quarterly budgets and training, questioning their feasibility before elections.
• Banerjee claimed the Centre still owes West Bengal Rs 51,627 crore under MGNREGA and highlighted automatic old-age pension benefits under Lakshmir Bhandar.

Why It Matters: This shows a major state-centre conflict over welfare funding and federal rights.