Thaindian News

South 24 Parganas (West Bengal), Jan 8 (IANS) Terming the creation of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) a “blunder”, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) said Sunday Darjeeling was on the boil and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) will soon resume its violent ways.”The West Bengal government has made a blunder by signing the GTA pact. This has strengthened the hands of the GJM. Darjeeling, which is on the boil, will soon erupt as the GJM will resume its demand for a separate state and resort to its violent ways,” former chief minister and CPI-M politburo leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said at a party rally in Harinavi in this West Bengal district.

On July 18, a tripartite agreement was signed between the GJM and the Trinamoll-Congress-led state and central governments for setting up a new autonomous, elected GTA, a hill council armed with more powers than its predecessor Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) formed in the late 1980s.

Bhattacharjee, in a scathing attack on the Mamata Banerjee government, said the state was lagging behind others on all fronts under the new regime.

“More than 60 percent of the population lives in villages and their condition is pitiable. The farmers are losing their lands and getting debt-ridden. Many are committing suicide. The rural employment scheme of the central government has fallen flat because of faulty implementation by the state government,” he said.

He also said the state was losing on the industry front as well because of the government’s ineptness.

“The investors are apprehensive of coming to Bengal because they know the government will not help them in getting lands. Why would they come here if the government is not supportive? Unless there is industry there wont be any employment generation and so unemployment in the state has been constantly rising,” said Bhattacharjee.

He also attacked the government on the law and order front, alleging anti-socials were getting patronage from Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress which has led to the steady rise in the crime chart across the state.

Bhattacharjee said the government has taken a back step and “jeopardised” the power stability of the state by hindering the 1,600 MW power plant proposed by the erstwhile Left Front regime at Burdwan’s Katwa.

The Banerjee government has refused to buy the remaining 550 acres of the 1,100 acres required for the plant to be built by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and asked it either to construct the plant on the available land or directly purchase the remainder.