National parties exploit sentiments of hill people to get votes: Ashok Bhattacharya

The national level parties such as Congress and BJP exploit the sentiments of the hill people to fill up their vote bank before the elections and what the people get are only a lists of unfulfilled promises, according to the CPM veteran and erstwhile Municipal Affairs and Urban Development minister Ashok Bhattacharya. He made the statement in a press conference at the CPM’s party office in Siliguri today.
Bhattacharya, who is also the Darjeeling district Left Front convener, appealed the voters of Darjeeling hills to think rationally while casting vote. He pointed out the dominant hill parties on several occasions supported the big party candidates and the locals voted for them with an undoubted faith on their promises but finally returned empty handed. 
 The CPM senior leader said the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) had backed Congress candidate Indrajit Khullar in late 1980s and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supported BJP candidate Jaswant Singh in the last Lok Shabha election. In both the occasions locals got nothing but betrayal.
Bhattacharya further said the Trinamool Congress had built up an alliance with the GJM in the 2011 assembly election but after the former formed government the relationship between the two parties grew bitter.
The former minister claimed the Left Front as the only political group which has proposed the coherent plan to intensify development at the Darjeeling hills without the bifurcation of the state.
Taking a dig at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bhattacharya said the Trinamool led state government is plotting to disrupt the unity among the hill people. Hence, it has formed separate councils for different communities living there, added the district LF convener.(EOIC)