TMC move to corner Asok

BIRESWAR BANERJEE, TT, Siliguri: Trinamul said on Tuesday that it would request the chief minister to instruct state government agencies to look after civic services in Siliguri as the Left Front municipal corporation had failed in its duties.

The move is seen as a strategy by Trinamul to send across a message that the Siliguri Municipal Corporation is not delivering services to the residents after the party failed to force out mayor Asok Bhattacharya through a no-confidence motion.

Senior Trinamul councillors said they would write to Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday, requesting her to engage the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority and north Bengal development department improve civic services in the town and also take up development projects.

"We don't have adequate number of councillors to table a no-confidence motion against the Left Front board. But being peoples' representatives, we cannot simply sit idle, seeing the miserable performance of the board that has failed in every field, right from providing basic services to people to prevention of dengue. That is why we will request the chief minister to engage SJDA and north Bengal department," said Krishna Pal, a Trinamul councillor and the convener of the party's SMC Movement Committee.

In the SMC, there are 47 wards, 22 of which are with the Left Front. The Congress has four councillors, while Trinamul has 18 members. The BJP has two seats and one word is vacant following the demise of the sole independent councillor.

The Left is in minority but no single party in opposition has the magic figure - half-plus-one-to remove Bhattacharya.

"We will hold demonstrations and rallies from November 9 but there are doubts where the Left board and the mayor will make any move to improve the services. That is why we want the state to intervene and use development agencies and departments," said a Trinamul leader.

The mayor said: "I don't want to comment on baseless allegations (by Trinamul). The state is depriving us of funds. If the state engages any development agency for civic works in the city, we will launch protests. The state can never ignore an elected civic board."