Mamata spends night on dharna over West Bengal's 'dues' from Centre

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's dharna, demanding West Bengal's "dues" from the Centre for various social welfare schemes, continued overnight amid the cold.

Banerjee along with leaders of her party, the TMC, started the demonstration on Friday afternoon in front of the BR Ambedkar's statue in the Maidan area in the heart of Kolkata.

State ministers such as Firhad Hakim and Aroop Biswas were among those who accompanied Banerjee the night, party leaders said on Saturday morning.

She was demonstrating, claiming that the BJP-led government at the Centre owes the state thousands of crores of rupees on account of various welfare schemes, including the MGNREGA and the PM Awas Yojana.

The dharna will continue for 48 hours till Sunday, with the state's budget session beginning on Monday.