Siliguri, March 28: The BJP nominee
for Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, S.S. Ahluwalia, today wanted to know how
Trinamul Congress could spend huge sums of money in their campaigns
when their leader was wearing “hawai chappals”.
Ahluwalia kicked off his election
campaign in the plains by offering prayers at a gurdwara here today and
attended a few workers’ meeting in and around Siliguri.
After arriving in
Bagdogra on March 19, Ahluwalia had moved to the hills on the same day.
Since then, he had been campaigning across the three Assembly segments
in the hills.
From tomorrow, the
BJP candidate backed by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha will canvass for
votes in the Assembly seats of Siliguri, Matigara-Naxalbari, Phansidewa
and Chopra, all in the plains.
Around 9.30am today, Ahluwalia, along with BJP leaders and workers, reached a gurdwara on Sevoke Road and offered prayers.
“We have been
hearing allegations levelled against me by Mamata Banerjee that I am
buying votes with money and carrying bags full of cash. It is a baseless
allegation and thousands of people have seen me campaigning across the
hills in the past one week,” Ahluwalia said after coming out of the
gurdwara.
“I would like to
ask the source of Trinamul’s money. While someone is wearing hawai
chappals, her party candidates are spending huge sums in their
campaigns. Where is this money coming from?”
The BJP candidate was attributing to Trinamul chief Mamata Banerjee who wears hawai chappals and seeks to lead a simple life.
The chief minister
had alleged during the meetings of Trinamul candidate Bhaichung Bhutia
in recent days that Ahluwalia was buying votes from the people.
Today, Ahluwalia
referred to his association with Mamata when they were in the Chhatra
Parishad. “Both Mamata Banerjee and I had worked together in the Chhatra
Parishad and know everything about each other. It is better that she
and other Trinamul leaders refrain from making such baseless allegations
(against me),” he said.
Told about the
Bengal unit of the BJP’s stand against the creation of Gorkhaland, he
said: “There are other issues which need focus. Roads across north
Bengal are in a pitiable state. Major road works had been undertaken
during the term of Atal Behari Vajpayee. The region has been neglected
by the state and Centre and no major development has been carried out.
We are focusing on these issues right now and intending to address them
as an MP in future. We are aware of the demand for a separate state but
it is not the only issue that is highlighted in the campaign,”
Ahluwalia said.
He also sought to question Mamata’s stand on Gorkhaland.
“Mamata Banerjee
is speaking at length against Gorkhaland and our party. But back in
2000, she was an NDA ally and a railway minister when three new states
were formed for better governance. She had also allied with the Morcha
ahead of the Assembly polls (in 2011) and invited Morcha leaders to a
public meeting at Brigade Parade Ground in Calcutta on February 3 this
year,” said Ahluwalia.
The three new states — Uttarkhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand — were formed in 2000 by the NDA government.
Ahluwalia attended
several workers’ meeting in and around Siliguri today. BJP insiders
said Ahluwalia would also interact with people from different walks of
life and visit localities in four Assembly segments in the plains in the
days to come.
Asked for
Trinamul’s reaction to Ahluwalia’s charge, minister Gautam Deb said:
“People have witnessed the agitation in the hills and the plains and
know how the economy of north Bengal was affected. Some leaders are
making political remarks only to slander the image of Trinamul. But
they will not succeed in their intentions.”(TT)