Ahluwalia promises to fulfil ‘aspirations’Bid by govt to stall BJP campaign: Candidate
Siliguri, March 19: The BJP’s
Darjeeling candidate, S.S. Ahluwalia, today said he would try to fulfil
the “expectations and aspirations” of people in the constituency and
accused the state government of trying to disrupt the party’s Lok Sabha
election campaign.
Ahluwalia, who is backed by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, arrived at Bagdogra airport from New Delhi this afternoon.
Morcha general
secretary Roshan Giri and Darjeeling district BJP leaders welcomed him,
amid loud cheers by 100-odd supporters of both the parties.
“I am aware that
people living in this region have certain expectations and aspirations.
If I win, I will be able to persuade the government, to be formed in the
near future, to fulfil these expectations and aspirations. Since
Independence, neither the state government nor the Centre has done
anything major for the development of Siliguri, Darjeeling and the
Dooars. An MP should religiously take up the problems and issues of
people in his area and if I get a chance, I will surely not shatter
their hopes,” Ahluwalia, who is also one of the vice-president of the
BJP, told a press conference here.
Asked if the
“expectations and aspirations” meant a separate state of Gorkhaland as
demanded by the Morcha, the BJP nominee refrained from a direct reply.
“Back in 2009, we
had promised in our election manifesto that the demand for Gorkhaland,
which is not unconstitutional, would be sympathetically considered. This
time again, we will include the same promise in the manifesto. Let us
make it clear that for good governance, the BJP has always been in
favour of smaller states. We had formed Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and
Uttarakhand without any bloodshed. We also supported the formation of
Telangana, though there was bloodshed there,” he said.
Ahluwalia, whose
main rival in the fray is footballer Bhaichung Bhutia, backed by the
Trinamul Congress, attacked the Mamata Banerjee government for its
alleged bid to scuttle the BJP campaign.
“We were supposed
to hold a workers’ meeting in Siliguri after my arrival today. But it
could not be held as our party was denied permission. Yesterday, I got a
phone call from Chandan Mitra (the BJP candidate for Hooghly) who said
the party had been stopped from putting hoardings by the administration.
What do all these incidents indicate?” asked Ahluwalia.
The BJP leader also said the recent arrest of Morcha leader Bimal Dorjee went against the GTA agreement.
“It is clearly
mentioned in the GTA agreement that all cases, except those related to
murder, registered during the statehood agitation will be withdrawn. But
recently, the state government has acted on old cases and arrested
Morcha leaders. We will soon meet the Election Commission officials and
bring these issues to their notice. Interestingly, those Morcha workers
and leaders who are now in Trinamul are being spared, though they were
named in several police cases. This is sheer bias,” said the BJP leader.
Asked about
current Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh’s “rare visits” to his constituency
in the past five years, Ahluwalia said: “I am not here to assess his
performance but want to say that the Morcha has reposed faith in us. If
we had been elected to power in 2009, a lot of problems and issues
associated with Darjeeling would have been resolved during these years….
Siliguri and Darjeeling are not new places for me. During the 2009
polls, I was here.”
He said Narendra Modi and Jaswant Singh might visit Darjeeling for his campaign.
En route to
Darjeeling, Ahluwalia stopped in places like Kurseong, Sonada and Ghoom
where he was welcomed by huge crowds of Morcha supporters.
He arrived in Darjeeling this evening and said he would file his nomination on March 24.
Sources in the BJP and the Morcha said Ahluwalia would hold talks with GTA chief executive Bimal Gurung in Darjeeling tomorrow.(TT)
GJMM, BJP cadres welcome their Hill candidate
Siliguri, 19 March: Hundreds of Gorkha Jan Mukti Mocha (GJMM) and BJP supporters welcomed
GJMM-backed BJP candidate for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency, SS
Ahluwalia, at the Bagdogra airport here today.
Amid slogans and cheers, GJMM general secretary Roshan Giri received Mr Ahluwalia at the airport. However, police did not allow many vehicles of the supporters at the airport.
Mr Ahluwalia boarded a hoodless vehicle for some time at the airport, while GJMM activists gathered to welcome him at different places on his way to
Darjeeling.
The north Bengal BJP coordinator, Partha Ghosh, who was with Mr Ahluwalia’s convoy for some time, said the BJP vice-president will start his election campaign soon.
"His election campaign will kick off this week. He will first campaign in the Hills and then the plains," Mr Ghosh said.
Mr Ahluwalia was supposed to hold a meeting in Siliguri among BJP workers before heading for Darjeeling today. However, the plan as later cancelled.
"We had to cancel the meeting as the administration denied permission to it just before the meeting was to start," he Mr Ghosh said.
Amid slogans and cheers, GJMM general secretary Roshan Giri received Mr Ahluwalia at the airport. However, police did not allow many vehicles of the supporters at the airport.
Mr Ahluwalia boarded a hoodless vehicle for some time at the airport, while GJMM activists gathered to welcome him at different places on his way to
Darjeeling.
The north Bengal BJP coordinator, Partha Ghosh, who was with Mr Ahluwalia’s convoy for some time, said the BJP vice-president will start his election campaign soon.
"His election campaign will kick off this week. He will first campaign in the Hills and then the plains," Mr Ghosh said.
Mr Ahluwalia was supposed to hold a meeting in Siliguri among BJP workers before heading for Darjeeling today. However, the plan as later cancelled.
"We had to cancel the meeting as the administration denied permission to it just before the meeting was to start," he Mr Ghosh said.
Ahluwalia slams state ‘atrocitiesTMC is preventing opponents from organising poll campaigns
Siliguri, 19 March: BJP candidate for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, SS Ahluwalia, today
alleged that the Trinamul Congress-led state machineries are preventing
opponents from organising election campaigns.
Terming the ‘state atrocities’ as ‘unfortunate,’ Mr Ahluwalia said: “The state machinery, using the Election Commission’s guidelines, has started barring opponents from campaigning. BJP candidate Chandan Mitra from Hooghly informed me that he was in no position to display hoardings for the elections there. The state machineries are preventing him from doing so.”
He added that many people in the Darjeeling Hills started a movement for separate statehood and that when the tripartite agreement for the formation of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) was inked, it was mentioned that the pending cases against the leaders in the Hills (except murder cases) would be reviewed and that they would eventually be set free.
“But the state machinery has now started arresting them in the name of the Election Commission’s guidelines. It is now branding the Gorkha Jan mukti Morcha (GJMM) leaders as wanted trouble mongers,” Mr Ahluwalia alleged.
“But the police have not yet taken action against some people who were erlier associated with the Gorkhaland movement but later joined the Trinamul Congress. This is most unfortunate,” he added.
Mr Ahluwalia also said his schedule for today was hit and a meeting with party workers postponed after the administration did not allow them to organize the meeting in Siliguri.
“My party workers were disappointed after the administration did not grant us permission for the party workers’ meet in Siliguri,” he said, adding, “We suspect that the administration took this decision following instructions from the bigwigs.”
Terming the ‘state atrocities’ as ‘unfortunate,’ Mr Ahluwalia said: “The state machinery, using the Election Commission’s guidelines, has started barring opponents from campaigning. BJP candidate Chandan Mitra from Hooghly informed me that he was in no position to display hoardings for the elections there. The state machineries are preventing him from doing so.”
He added that many people in the Darjeeling Hills started a movement for separate statehood and that when the tripartite agreement for the formation of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) was inked, it was mentioned that the pending cases against the leaders in the Hills (except murder cases) would be reviewed and that they would eventually be set free.
“But the state machinery has now started arresting them in the name of the Election Commission’s guidelines. It is now branding the Gorkha Jan mukti Morcha (GJMM) leaders as wanted trouble mongers,” Mr Ahluwalia alleged.
“But the police have not yet taken action against some people who were erlier associated with the Gorkhaland movement but later joined the Trinamul Congress. This is most unfortunate,” he added.
Mr Ahluwalia also said his schedule for today was hit and a meeting with party workers postponed after the administration did not allow them to organize the meeting in Siliguri.
“My party workers were disappointed after the administration did not grant us permission for the party workers’ meet in Siliguri,” he said, adding, “We suspect that the administration took this decision following instructions from the bigwigs.”
BJP ok with tiny state: Ahluwalia, Alleges tug-of-war between Hills and state govt over issue
Siliguri/Darjeeling, 19 March
To appease people in the Darjeeling Hills in their aspiration for a separate statehood, BJP candidate for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, SS Ahluwalia, today shored up the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha’s (GJMM) ‘constitutional’ demand for Gorkhaland.
Interacting with reporters here, Mr Ahluwalia said the GJMM’s demand for a separate state was ‘logical’ as per the Indian Constitution, but, according to him, there was a ‘tug-of-war’ on the issue between the aspirants and the state authorities.
“The BJP supports formation of a tiny state for good governance in the interest of the people, and we extended support to the present Central government in forming the separate Telangana state,” he said.
“The BJP had mentioned that the party would sympathetically consider the expectations and aspirations of the Gorkha and Adivasi people in this region in its last LS election manifesto in 2009. The matter will be continued again. But the question is how the matter would be presented in my party’s fresh manifesto. I will be able to sy this only later,” the BJP vice-president said.
A high profile candidate, Mr Ahluwalia, who addressed the press in Bengali, tried hard to establish that he was not an ‘outsider’ and claimed he was connected with Bengal and that he was brought up at Asansol in Burdwan district.
He also tried to save the face of the outgoing Darjeeling MP and senior BJP leader, Jaswant Singh, following people’s grievances against him.
“Had the BJP-led NDA formed the government at the Centre, Mr Singh would have resolved many problems of the Hills and in this region. But unfortunately, we failed to bag power in 2009,” Mr Ahluwalia said, adding, “But this time, we are confident enough that the BJP led by Narendra Modi will be able to form the government at the Centre, and we will be able to fulfill the aspirations of the people here. My aim is to restore peace and bring about development in Darjeeling Hills.”
Asked to comment on whether the BJP will make a post-poll alliance with the Trinamul Congress, Mr Ahluwalia said: “The BJP will be able to secure 272 plus seats this time.”
Mr Ahluwalia, who arrived in Siliguri today later went to Darjeeling, where he said he will file his nomination on 24 March.
"I was born in West Bengal. I am not a foreigner and I have visited Darjeeling several times in the past," he told reporters in Darjeeling town.
However, contrary to claims made by GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh today that Mr Ahluwalia had also contacted him for poll support, the BJP candidate said he never got in touch with Mr Ghisingh over this matter.(SNS)
To appease people in the Darjeeling Hills in their aspiration for a separate statehood, BJP candidate for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, SS Ahluwalia, today shored up the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha’s (GJMM) ‘constitutional’ demand for Gorkhaland.
Interacting with reporters here, Mr Ahluwalia said the GJMM’s demand for a separate state was ‘logical’ as per the Indian Constitution, but, according to him, there was a ‘tug-of-war’ on the issue between the aspirants and the state authorities.
“The BJP supports formation of a tiny state for good governance in the interest of the people, and we extended support to the present Central government in forming the separate Telangana state,” he said.
“The BJP had mentioned that the party would sympathetically consider the expectations and aspirations of the Gorkha and Adivasi people in this region in its last LS election manifesto in 2009. The matter will be continued again. But the question is how the matter would be presented in my party’s fresh manifesto. I will be able to sy this only later,” the BJP vice-president said.
A high profile candidate, Mr Ahluwalia, who addressed the press in Bengali, tried hard to establish that he was not an ‘outsider’ and claimed he was connected with Bengal and that he was brought up at Asansol in Burdwan district.
He also tried to save the face of the outgoing Darjeeling MP and senior BJP leader, Jaswant Singh, following people’s grievances against him.
“Had the BJP-led NDA formed the government at the Centre, Mr Singh would have resolved many problems of the Hills and in this region. But unfortunately, we failed to bag power in 2009,” Mr Ahluwalia said, adding, “But this time, we are confident enough that the BJP led by Narendra Modi will be able to form the government at the Centre, and we will be able to fulfill the aspirations of the people here. My aim is to restore peace and bring about development in Darjeeling Hills.”
Asked to comment on whether the BJP will make a post-poll alliance with the Trinamul Congress, Mr Ahluwalia said: “The BJP will be able to secure 272 plus seats this time.”
Mr Ahluwalia, who arrived in Siliguri today later went to Darjeeling, where he said he will file his nomination on 24 March.
"I was born in West Bengal. I am not a foreigner and I have visited Darjeeling several times in the past," he told reporters in Darjeeling town.
However, contrary to claims made by GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh today that Mr Ahluwalia had also contacted him for poll support, the BJP candidate said he never got in touch with Mr Ghisingh over this matter.(SNS)