I won't quit or yield to pressure: Asok - Mayor says he is yet to decide on meeting with Deb on June 8

BIRESWAR BANERJEE and AVIJIT SINHA, TT, Siliguri, May 28: Mayor Asok Bhattacharya today said he wouldn't quit office like his predecessor and would complete the entire term without succumbing to any sort of pressure.

The statement came a day after he was denied an opportunity to meet ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee in Calcutta, despite fixing appointments with both of them to discuss development of Siliguri.

Bhattacharya today said he was yet to decide if he should meet north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb on June 8 because of his experience in Calcutta yesterday.

Bhattacharya, who arrived here this morning from Calcutta, said: "I would like to make it clear that I am not like others or any of my predecessors. I will never succumb to any sort of pressure or hindrance and walk out of the mayor's office before my tenure ends. People of Siliguri have elected me and my party has handed over to me the responsibility to run the civic board. I have taken up the challenge and will continue to face it and work for development of Siliguri for next five years."

Hakim and Mukherjee had refused to meet the mayor citing their engagements in the Assembly. B.P. Gopalika, the principal secretary of the state municipal affairs department, had kept Bhattacharya waiting outside his chamber at Writers' Buildings for nearly 20 minutes when the mayor went to meet Hakim yesterday.

The CPM said the cold-shoulder Bhattacharya got in Calcutta was a hint that the state government was unlikely to reciprocate the co-operative attitude articulated by the mayor.

"I am not an escapist and will never move away from my responsibilities as the mayor. Whatever hindrances come in my way, I will face them and take appropriate decisions," the mayor said today.

Bhattacharya's predecessor Gangotri Datta of the Congress had resigned from the mayor's post in May last year even though her tenure was to end in September 2014.

She said she had quit the office because the state government was hindering the functioning of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation board.

However, her resignation was seen as a fallout of a wrangling in the Congress over the alleged 4G cable laying scam and the abysmal performance of the party in the SMC wards in the Lok Sabha polls.

Bhattacharya today said it was "unfortunate" that Deb's private secretary had written to him when the mayor had sought an appointment with the minister. "It is unfortunate that the minister's private secretary wrote to me, instead of my private secretary. Such behaviour is disappointing as the minister did not write the letter himself. I want the ministers and officials of different government departments to see that the dignity of chairpersons and mayors of civic bodies is not hurt because of such behaviour," said the mayor.

Deb had said Bhattacharya could meet him at Uttarkanya on June 8.

The mayor said he was yet to take a decision on the June 8 meeting.

"After yesterday's experience in Calcutta, I would think twice before attending the meeting with the north Bengal development minister. There is no guarantee that on June 8, I will not have an experience similar to what I faced in Calcutta. "Further, I have some other engagements, meetings and official work. I will have to look into these matters and then only can I take a decision," said the mayor.

Deb, when asked about the mayor's remarks, said: "Both the ministers (Hakim and Mukherjee) were busy in the Assembly. I am wondering whether the mayor wants to focus on development or indulge in politics. He sought time from me and immediately, my office communicated to him. Now, he is making that correspondence an issue."

"He has been elected for five years and I believe he has ample time to meet the state ministers and officials. He was also a minister and well understands that when the Assembly is in session, the ministers remain busy."