West Bengal govt stalled enrolment in pension scheme: Gangwar

Union minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar Tuesday claimed the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government has stalled enrolment of workers under the Centre's new pension scheme for unorganised sector.

The Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana, aimed at providing a monthly pension of Rs 3,000 to unorganised workers, was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday.

Speaking at the launch event, Gangwar said the scheme was being launched across the country through over two lakh common service centres, where unorganised workers can get themselves enrolled.

"Every state is participating in the scheme with great enthusiasm. Though we set a target of enrolling 11.5 lakh workers on the national launch day, over 14.5 lakh have already registered," said the minister of state (independent charge) for labour and employment.

"It seems the West Bengal government is not concerned about the workers' welfare. All our (enrolment) centres in West Bengal are shut today. This is very unfortunate. No one plays politics with workers," the minister said.

When the prime minister is working hard for people, the West Bengal government should also think about workers, he said.