LF demands polls in SMC

SNS, SILIGURI, 10 MAY: Left Front councillors at Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) demanded election to end the SMC impasse. The Opposition leader in the present SMC board, Mr Nurul Islam, said election is the only way out of the logjam the civic body has remained mired into for a long time .

“All development work has stopped, the basic civic service has remained in a shambles, people are at the receiving end of the endless squabbling and saber rattling involving the Congress and the Trinamul Congress. Such a state of things cannot be allowed to continue. We have written to Mayor Gangotri

Datta and also to SMC Commissioner P D Pradhan, but they have chosen to remain unresponsive,” Mr Islam said.

“We are of the view that the mayor should immediately dissolve the board and should go for a fresh mandate. The Trinamul Congress and the Congress should also apologise to the people for having let them down,” he added. A sit-in by the 17 Left Front councillors began today outside the chamber of the Mayor.

However, the mayor ruled out the possibility of election right now. “Why should we go for election? We are confident that the Congress-led civic board would complete its five-year term,” Ms Datta said.

“We are doing our best to address the developmental aspirations of the common people despite our limited resources,” she added.

The Trinamul Congress also rejected the Left Front’s suggestion for fresh election, saying that they should table a no-confidence against the present board instead of pontificating on development.

“It is intriguing as to why the Left Front which has 17 councillors in the civic body is not moving no-confidence motion. Theirs indulging in platitudes on development would not cut any ice with the people,” said a senior ruling party leader, Mr Krishna Pal.