Bankura, West Bengal: A large number of Muslim women from West Bengal’s Bankura were in for a rude shock when they visited the local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA, Niladri Sekhar Dana on Friday (October 2) afternoon. The women say they had approached Dana seeking help with Annapurna Yojana, a financial assistance scheme meant for women from distressed families.But instead of helping them, they allege that Dana insisted they chant the Hindutva slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and declared that the benefits of the Annapurna scheme would go to Hindu women first, and only then to Muslim families.The women, who live in Khethardanga, in Ward No. 19 of Bankura Municipality, say they left Dana’s office near Bhairabsthan in the town feeling humiliated. They have decided to escalate to the authorities their complaint about the MLA’s behaviour as well as the Annapurna scheme not working for them.“We felt so insulted by the Bankura MLA that we couldn’t even eat,” said Sabena Mondal of Khethardanga on returning home after meeting the MLA. “The entire neighbourhood did not eat that day,” said Reshma Bibi, who looked visibly distressed after returning.The women of Khetardanga in Bankura Municipality, West Bengal, speak of the humiliation they were allegedly subjected to by the MLA, Niladri Sekhar Dana. (Screenshot from video testimonies of the women, by Madhu Sudan Chatterjee.)The women’s complaint is that they have not been receiving the promised Rs 3,000 montly payment under the Annapurna scheme, as promised by the BJP during its election campaign and after forming the government. Delays and missing Annapurna payments – many say they have not received a single installment in the months since the BJP came to power – have sparked protests in several parts of Bengal, not just Bankura.Also read: Denied Benefits, Distressed and in Debt: Women Across Bengal Protest Over Annapurna YojanaBut for these Khetardanga residents, the failure of the scheme has come with the injury of insult as well. Most of the residents of the locality are Muslim, and almost entirely depend on daily wages to make a living. They depend on welfare schemes to tide over the lack of adequate employment opportunities and poor wages for work.Professor Pratip Mukuerjee, former Head of the Department of Economics at Bankura Sammilani College, said Khetardanga residents are mostly manual labourers who find work intermittently, either at the Bankura railway goods shed or in the markets of Bankura town. “Work is irregular and the families often struggle to make ends meet,” he said.Government passes the buckWhen The Wire visited the locality, women said that they had gone to the Bankura Sub-divisional Officer (SDO) in the last week of September to complain about not receiving Annapurna benefits. They had applied both online and offline, but the money never reached most of them.At the SDO’s office, they were told that a ‘Seba Setu Abhijan’ would be held in the Bankura Municipality on Gandhi Jayanti, October 2, and that it would continue until October 4. They were told to go there seeking help. Seba Setu Abhijan is a public contact programme popularised by previous West Bengal governments where the gap between promises and delivery with respect to government schemes is supposed to be bridged.A large group of women from Khetardanga then travelled to the Seba Setu Abhijan, being held at Godhuli Lodge in Bankura, on the first day – October 2 – carrying their documents along. But here, too, they were only pushed around. This time, they were asked to meet the BJP MLA, Dana.Around 30 women from the group then boarded four e-rickshaws and headed for Dana’s office near Bhairabsthan in Bankura.‘Insulted instead of delivering on promises’“We went there hoping someone would resolve the issue. But as soon as the MLA saw us, he started raising ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans. We told him that it was fine, but what would happen to our Annapurna money. He told us that Hindu women should receive the money first and Muslim women would get it afterwards,” said Reshma Bibi, one of the women who went to meet the MLA.Another resident, Sharifi Bibi, alleged that Dana told them, “’We did not win with Muslim votes, so your issue will be considered later’.”Bankura MLA Nilandri Sekhar Dana (right) denied he made remarks about Muslim women having to ‘wait’ until Hindu women had received his government’s Annapurna Yojana benefits. Photo: Dana’s Facebook profile. Also seen in the photo, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath.“Why is the MLA dividing people into Hindus and Muslims? We did not go there to discuss votes or politics. We went to a government-sponsored camp because we were told to go there, and from there we were directed to meet MLA,” said Nurjan Bibi.Also read: ‘Worst Fears Coming True’: Why BJP Chief Ministers’ Plans to Link SIR to Welfare Raises Serious Concerns“We went expecting help, but instead we were humiliated,” Nurjan said.The refusal to help and the communal remarks were not the end of the ordeal these Muslim women faced. Several of them said the MLA’s hangers-on made obscene gestures towards them. They were asked to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in exchange for Annapurna benefits.‘All we want is for the Annapurna Bhandar to work. The MLA told us, ‘Say Jai Shri Ram! Say ‘Jai Shri Ram!'” Residents of Khetardanga in West Bengal’s Bankura Municipality allege the MLA Niladri Sekhar Dana mistreated them. The MLA has denied he said anything to the women about their religious identity. Screenshot from video recorded by Madhu Sudan Chatterjee.“Are we not entitled to Annapurna Yojana benefits because we are Muslim?”“Why were we humiliated?”“We want everyone who is eligible to receive the benefits of the government scheme.”This is what the women of the locality kept saying when The Wire visited Khetardanga.‘Cannot bear to eat, but will pursue this matter’The women said they left the MLA’s office feeling crestfallen, but felt worse when they reached home. News of their ordeal had already reached their families and neighbours. Several women told The Wire that they couldn’t bear to look at food when they got home – the rice and vegetables they had cooked before leaving for the government camp on October 2 lay untouched.“We had cooked early in the morning and left, but we cannot forget how the Bankura MLA humiliated us. We cannot eat,” said Khusbu Bibi.Zarina Bibi, Hasina Bibi, Sahedun Bibi, Ayesha Bibi, Fulsura Bibi and many others gathered in the house of Sabena Mondal, discussing what they would do next.The women have decided to approach the Bankura SDO on October 6 to seek an explanation for why they have not received the Annapurna payments and to ask whether the MLA was authorised to speak to them the way he had, based on their religious identity.The Wire contacted BJP MLA Niladri Sekhar Dana for his response to the complaints of the women. He accepted that he had said “Jai Shri Ram”, but denied making insulting remarks.“Yes I said ‘Jai Shri Ram’ but I did not say anything insulting to any women. I told them that the matter would be looked into. Who said what insulting words, I do not know. There were many people with me, and I will not take responsibility for what they may have said,” Dana said.