TMC rally with Asok resignation demand

TT, Siliguri, Aug. 7: Trinamul councillors will march to the Siliguri Municipal Corporation office tomorrow demanding mayor Asok Bhattacharya's resignation, days after the party's Darjeeling district president, Gautam Deb, said "major changes" would take place in the civic body and the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad this month.

Deb's remark had sparked speculations that Trinamul would try to topple the two Left boards through defection.

Tomorrow, Trinamul's "SMC Abhiyan" will start around 11.30am from Baghajatin Park near the SMC building.

"The residents of Siliguri are fed up with the poor performance of the SMC board. It has failed to provide the basic services, like conservancy, supply of drinking water and better roads. The mayor, instead of improving services, always criticises the state government for not providing adequate funds, which is nothing but his escapist attitude... Keeping this in mind, we have decided to come out against the Left Front board with a demand that the mayor step down...," Nantu Pal, leader of the opposition at the SMC, said today.

"All 17 councillors of our party will participate in tomorrow's programme. We are not going to allow the civic board to function with such lackadaisical attitude...," he added.

On Thursday while leaving a students' convention here, Deb had said: "There will be major changes in the boards in the SMC and SMP in this month... The so-called Siliguri model will be dumped nowhere else but here in Siliguri. ...We are making appropriate efforts to change these boards."

Observers said Trinamul's desperation was because of the defeats in three consecutive elections (SMC, SMP and the Assembly) and it would have to prove it's strength before the Lok Sabha polls in 2019.

In the SMC polls, the Left had won 23 of the 47 seats, Trinamul bagged 17, the Congress got four, the BJP two and an Independent got one seat. The Left formed the board by getting the Independent councillor on board. In the SMP, the Left got six of the nine seats. Three seats went to Trinamul.

Jibesh Sarkar, secretary of CPM's district unit, said: "It is unfortunate that Trinamul is trying to gain power in all local bodies where it failed to win...We are ready to counter any such attempt and we will organise a rally tomorrow to protest their unethical tactic." The rally will start at 4.30pm.