Siliguri mayor Asok Bhattacharya is set to follow Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s way of protest to have his ‘legitimate…
Asok Bhattacharya and Arvind Kejriwal.
Siliguri mayor Asok Bhattacharya is set to follow Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s way of protest to have his ‘legitimate demands’ met by the state government.
As Mr Kejriwal and his three cabinet colleagues stage a sit-in at the office of the lieutenant- governor, Anil Baijal, against the ‘strike’ by IAS officers, Left Front councllors in the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) will protest in a similar manner against the “non-cooperation” of the Trinamul Congress-run state government when it comes to matters relate to the Left Front-run SMC.
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Mr Bhattacharya, who was in Delhi last week, and who met officials of the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs, on Monday demanded inclusion of Siliguri in Central projects like Swachh Bharat, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
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“Four chief ministers, including West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, rallied behind Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is fighting against injustice of the Centre. We have been facing noncooperation and financial discrimination from the state government, so we have also planned to launch similar agitations against the state government,” Mr Bhattacharya said.
“All Left councilors of the SMC board met ministers concerned of the state government, but that did not yield any result. Now, we will follow the same line (as in Delhi) to have the demands and legitimate claims of the civic board fulfilled. I hope the chief minister will support us too, just like she stood beside Mr Kejriwal,” he added.
The Trinamul Congress has, however, alleged that the Mr Bhattacharya-led civic board had failed to utilise funds given by the state government.
“He can go for any movement, but he has to take the onus that the board led by him failed to deliver for the last three years. The state government has provided adequate funds, but it has failed to utilize them,” said leader of the Opposition at the Siliguri Municipal corporation, Ranjan Sarkar.
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