Centre working towards PPS, claims Raju Bista

PRASHANT ACHARYA | EOI | SILIGURI | MAY 27, 2022 : BJP MP of Darjeeling Raju Bista who has been opposing Gorkhaland Territorial Administration on Friday said the Trinamool congress government was misusing state powers by issuing the notification and declaring the date of GTA election.

Bista said: "By issuing the notification for election to GTA, the Trinamool Congress Government in West Bengal has blatantly misused state powers in their attempt to shove an illegal entity like the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration down the throat of the people of the Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars once again. This showcases both the desperation of Trinamool government and its dictatorial attitude towards our region and people.

"Bista said that in a democracy, the will of the people was paramount. The people of the Darjeeling-Kalimpong region had overwhelmingly rejected GTA. Political parties that had signed the GTA Agreement had pulled out of it. The Central government which was one of the signatories to the GTA Agreement of 2011 was working towards Permanent Political Solution. Yet, the West Bengal government was trying to impose this illegal GTA on our region to keep itself away from the tripartite talks.

"For the past 20-years, West Bengal government has not held panchayat elections in our region. This has deprived our people of the basic grassroots democracy, as well as deprived our region of over Rs 5000 crore in panchayat-related development funds and projects. Despite repeated request by the Centre, the West Bengal Government has refused to hold the constitutionally guaranteed panchayat elections in our region, while they are imposing the unconstitutional GTA forcefully. This underlines the unconstitutional and dictatorial tendencies of Trinamool Congress.".

He said if the law-and-order situation worsened in in the hills in the coming days, then it would be solely because of the insensitive and dictatorial attitude of the Trinamool Government.

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