Mamata barb at mayor and model

TT, Siliguri, April 11: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today critisiced the "Siliguri Model" and told the residents here that she would take up more development work here if the voters ensured the defeat of "this person" - a clear reference to CPM's Asok Bhattacharya.

Mamata said the "model" was like old wine in a new bottle that has failed in the Siliguri Municipal Corporation area.

"I would like to ask what the model that came to power here 10 months ago has done? The street lights were installed by the north Bengal development department. I asked them (the officials) to develop the town by installing lights, (setting up) parks and (building) roads, which they have done. We will do more and more. But you have to defeat this person. If you defeat him, we will do everything to develop the town. All you have to do is end the audacity and conceitedness of the model," Mamata said at Suryanagar Friends Union Club ground in Dabgram.

She highlighted some projects taken up in the past four years. "I had heard during the civic polls here that a person would do so many things for Siliguri. But 10 months later, he could not take up a single development project. But if you compare us with the 34 years of Left Front regime, we came into power only four years ago, and we have built a secretariat in north Bengal, set up Siliguri police commissionerate and launched a Rs 3,500 crore mega tourism project at Gajoldoba," she told the 10,000-odd people. "I have never done politics by hiding my face because I can admit if I make any mistake," she said.

In 2011, Trinamul's Rudranath Bhattacharya won the Siliguri seat by 5,100 votes and defeated Asok Bhattacharya.