North Bengal: Sukanta Majumdar slams Mamata Banerjee government for shut tea estates

BJP state chief, along with John Barla, the local MP and the Union minister of state for minority affairs, take part in a rally on issues related to tea workers

Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar, Union minister of state John Barla and others at a rally organised by the BJP in Alipurduar on Thursday.: Anirban Choudhury

TT Correspondent, Alipurduar,  05.01.24 : Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar on Thursday attacked the Mamata Banerjee government, accusing it of failing to either reopen closed tea gardens or develop health infrastructure in the north Bengal tea belt.

Majumdar, however, dodged a direct reply as to what the Narendra Modi government at the Centre has done for the tea population of the region and passed the buck to the state.

Majumdar, who reached Alipurduar on Thursday, said: “Almost 10 gardens are closed here. These closures have enormously affected the economy of the Dooars. A tea garden worker in Alipurduar recently died because no ambulance was available, which proves that health services in the tea belt are in a shambles. Over the years, this state government has hardly done anything for tea workers.”

The BJP state chief, along with John Barla, the local MP and the Union minister of state for minority affairs, took part in a rally on issues related to tea workers. The rally reached Dooars Kanya, the district collectorate, where heavy police deployment was made.

BJP supporters tried to break bamboo barricades for half an hour but failed. Later, police arranged a delegation's visit to the district magistrate’s office, which then submitted a seven-point memorandum addressed to the DM, said sources.

Those who joined the rally shouted slogans, demanding the closed tea gardens be immediately reopened.

The rally and Majumdar’s remarks hinted that the BJP was trying to woo the tea population again to retain the Alipurduar parliamentary seat. In Alipurduar, the tea population decides the results of both Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.

Majumdar, however, did not reply directly when asked about the Centre’s role in improving tea industry, a question Bengal's ruling party has raised time and again.

“It is the responsibility of the state labour department to reopen the closed tea gardens. The provident fund authorities have filed complaints against several tea gardens for not depositing the PF of workers but the state police don’t take any step,” said Majumdar.

District Trinamul leaders termed it as a “charade.”

Prakash Chik Baraik, a Rajya Sabha MP from the district, said tea workers and their families knew what the Trinamul-led state government had done for them, from land rights to social welfare schemes.

“BJP leaders, on the other hand, didn’t do anything other than making empty promises to people of the tea belt. The BJP state president resorted to a charade to draw votes. Such strategies won't work this time,” said Baraik. 

Courtesy & source- The Telegraph