Buddhadeb criticised the Mamata for the first time,questioning the hill accord and the plans for Jungle Mahal

Calcutta, Aug. 5: Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today criticised the Mamata Banerjee government for the first time since it assumed office on May 20, questioning the hill accord and the plans for Jungle Mahal and advising the administration to rethink its policies on the two issues.

“I would like to speak on two issues that are of concern to us. First is Darjeeling. What is happening there and what’s the accord? How could the government include in the treaty (to form the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration) the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s point that they are not giving up the Gorkhaland demand?” the former chief minister said.

He was referring to the inclusion of the word “Gorkhaland” in the name of the set-up for the hills.

“Is the government agreeable to the demand for a separate state?’’ Bhattacharjee asked at an event in Mahajati Sadan to observe the 123rd birthday anniversary of Muzaffar Ahmed, one of the founding fathers of the CPM.

“Secondly, a committee has been set up to see if some regions in the Dooars and the Terai can be included in the hill administration. Why will the adivasis join the new body? Unrest against such a move has already spread in the plains. We want to ask the government not to invite trouble in the hills,’’ Bhattacharjee said.

Referring to Mamata’s development package for Jungle Mahal, he said the Maoists were the “bigger problem” in the tribal-dominated area than the issue of growth.

He said the Left government had “done a lot” in terms of creating infrastructure in Jungle Mahal but the biggest challenge was to tackle the rebels.

“Our government had set up schools, distributed lands and sunk deep tubewells in Jungle Mahal. But that’s not the issue there. The bigger problem finding ways to tackle the Maoists. They don’t believe in the country’s Constitution but only in bloodshed,’’ Bhattacharjee said.

“According to information available with our party, the Maoists have made rapid advances in Jungle Mahal in the past two months. What will the government do now? How far will they allow the rebels to march forward? That’s the big question,’’ he added. 

~TT