GTA poll petition hearing on 21 June: Bista

SNS, SIUGURI, 2 JUNE 2022: Darjeeling's BJP MP Raju Bista today said that the Trinamool Congress government had resorted to taking "indirect control of the Hills by "forcefully" conducting elections to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).

According to him, challenging the election to the GTA, a writ petition had been filed in the Calcutta High Court, which today passed an order, "wherein the matter has been directed to be heard along with the petition challenging the constitutionality of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Act on the 21st of June."

In a release, Mr Bista said that the Court had further directed that the result of this petition "shall abide by the result of the writ petition challenging the constitutionality

of GTA."

"We have full faith in our Judicial system, and we are confident that justice will be done. Conducted by the West Bengal Home Department and not the Election Commission of India, or even the Election Commission of West Bengal, this election is just a sham put up by TMC to once again control our region by using their paid politicians as proxy," he said.

According to him, one of the biggest tragedies of the 2017 agitation was the custodial death of elected Kalimpong Municipality Councillor Barun Bhujel. "Today, his younger brother Biren Bhujel has been made to surrender, while going on to file his nomination as an independent candidate, as he had been implicated in numerous fake cases with trumped up charges. Along with him, there are many other youths whose cases were never dropped by the WB Government, and they are now being arrested and their bails denied," Mr Bista added.

"I am most fearful that TMC will once again unleash a reign of terror in our region and implicate innocent people on fake charges, burn down their homes, use law enforcement agencies to threaten those who are opposed to the GTA or TMC," he said.