Ahluwalia all set to prepare blueprint for Darjeeling’s development

EOI, Darjeeling, 17 May 2014: Newly elected Darjeeling constituency Lok Sabha member Surendra Singh Ahluwalia, who is also the vice-president of the BJP, is all set to prepare a blueprint for the all-round development of Darjeeling district and will soon present it to the Narendra Modi government.

After winning by an unexpectedly huge margin over his chief rival, Bhaichung Bhutia of the TMC, Ahluwalia today interacted with the media in Siliguri before heading for New Delhi via Patna.

He said, “I will now prepare a blueprint for the all-round development of Darjeeling district and submit it to the prime minister. I have separate development plans for the Naxalbari region that has remained underdeveloped since the Naxalite movement. Neither the Left Front government, nor the TMC one has worked for the benefit of the underprivileged people of Naxalbari.”

When asked about the statehood demand by the people of the Darjeeling hills, Ahluwalia said the matter needs to be examined in detail, adding whatever Narendra Modi said during his speech in Khaprail on April 10 would be fulfilled.

Ahluwalia also agreed to discuss with the central government the proposal to set up a separate tea ministry as the tea industry is the only sector in Bengal earning the maximum revenue.

Further, he disclosed his party’s plan of operating bullet trains to enable the residents of the district to travel to the national capital and other parts of the country in quick time.

Speaking about the NDA’s ‘Look East Policy’, Ahluwalia said the process to develop the northeastern states will also benefit Siliguri immensely as it is the gateway to those regions.

When asked whether he was hopeful of receiving a cabinet portfolio, the BJP leader said, “It is up to the prime minister to choose his cabinet ministers and I do not wish to encroach in such a matter.”

Asked for his comments on the manner in which the TMC swept Bengal by clinching 34 seats, Ahluwalia said laconically, “Numbers do not always matter.”