Trinamool Cong demands Panchayat election at the earliest

Darjeeling,25 Nov 2013: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has demanded the state government to hold the Gram Panchyat election at the earliest to facilitate pending rural development works, however the party did not hint on forming a three tier panchayat system in the hills. TMC’s demand comes close on the heels of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) making similar claim in the November 20 and 21 bipartite and tripartite talks with the state and central governments in Kolkata.

Today after an indoor meeting in Darjeeling, Binny Sharma, TMC Hills’ spokesperson said, “We want the panchayat election in the Hills be conducted soon. The last election was held way back in 2000. But since then the panchayat system has become dysfunctional. This is causing a lot of problem for the people in the rural areas”. Sharma though refused to elaborate on the type of panchayat system. “We want elections for the panchayat system that has been mentioned in the GTA Act,” he said.
He explained, Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) president Subash Ghisingh did not allow the panchayat election in 2004 as he had raised the demand for placing the Hills under the ambit of the sixth schedule of the Constitution. He instead got the state government to appoint an administrator to officiate the gram panchayat, which currently is being looked after by the Block Development Officers. Interestingly, the state government chose to form the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) by way of an accord in 1988 to bring an end the bloody agitation for a separate Gorkha state. The state government then stopped short of implementing a three tier panchayat system (including the zilla parishad) in the Hills even though it decided to form gram panchayat and panchayat samity.
During the meeting, the party also welcomed the demand for reorganization of the existing eight blocks in the three Hills sub-divisions. “We welcome the demand of increasing the number of blocks in the three Hill sub-divisions as it will benefit people. But it should be done in consultation with the stakeholders. We also want that the number of GPs to be reorganized,” Sharma said. There are 112 GPs in the eight blocks of the Darjeeling Hills. GJM wants the eight blocks to be increased to eighteen and a resolution has already been passed in the GTA Sabha to the effect.
Rajen Mukhia, the TMC Hills convener said issue of party workers being intimidated by GJM cadres was also discussed in today’s meeting. “The GJM party is resorting to intimidation and terror tactics to curtail political activities of other parties in the hills. Our party activists are being threatened and our flags torn by GJM goons. This has to be stopped. Anything can happen including clashes as a result and GJM will have to take the blame,” he warned. (EOIC)