# BJP chief blames sabotage for Annapurna delay amid protests in Bengal 2026-08-23T22:41:47+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet (2 source reports) West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya has blamed 'system problems' and alleged sabotage for delays in disbursing Annapurna Yojana payments to eligible women, as protests spread across the state. Speaking in Howrah, Bhattacharya said only 2-3 per cent of beneficiaries had not received the Rs 3,000 monthly aid and promised the money would reach all. He added that nearly 50 lakh more women would be brought under the scheme. The Federal reports that of the 1.8 crore applications received, 1.45 crore women were included in the latest payment cycle while 17 lakh were kept out after verification. Women have protested at government offices and minister residences. Bhattacharya accused the previous Trinamool Congress government of fraud in the earlier Lakshmir Bhandar scheme. Minister Agnimitra Paul has also faced protests over the issue. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The two articles from The Federal present divergent frames. The first is a neutral report of BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya attributing Annapurna delays to 'system sabotage' and claiming only 2-3% of beneficiaries are unpaid. The second article adopts a government-critical stance, foregrounding a beneficiary's unresolved application, verifying that 17 lakh applications were excluded from payment, and questioning a gap between pre-election promises and post-election eligibility filters. Together they show the BJP government's internal explanation, bureaucratic obstruction, sits uneasily alongside persistent grassroots failures. The balance of coverage suggests the core test will be whether the government can clear the 17 lakh pending applications and narrow the gap between the 1.62 crore approved beneficiaries and the 2.21 crore who received the predecessor scheme. The Assembly watches the next payment cycle for resolution. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 1 government-critical, 1 neutral - thefederal.com (neutral report) Straight wire copy report of BJP leader's statement on scheme delay - thefederal.com (2) (government critical) Led with beneficiary complaint and 17 lakh excluded applications This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-25T03:03:10+00:00. Tags: Annapurna Yojana, BJP, Lakshmir Bhandar, Samik Bhattacharya, West Bengal Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/bengal-bjp-chief-blames-sabotage-for-annapurna-scheme-delay/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/bengal-bjp-chief-blames-sabotage-for-annapurna-scheme-delay/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/