The Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) and the BJP are trying to corner each other as temperatures rise in the hills in the run-up to the rural polls.
Anit Thapa, president of the BGPM, has launched a very pointed attack on the BJP but at the same time is slightly soft on the BJP allies in the hills.
“For 15 years, they (the BJP) have hoodwinked the hill people and won elections. The BJP must be uprooted from the hills. What have they done for the hills? They have not even managed to bring a nail to the hills,” Thapa said during his poll campaign in Darjeeling on Thursday.
The BGPM president also attacked the BJP on the issue of “regionalism” and stating the national party overtakes the regional parties that are its allies in the hills.
“Subash Ghisingh (GNLF leader) had safeguarded our land and identity. The BJP is trampling upon these safeguards,” said Thapa.
The GNLF, Hamro Party and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha are allies of the BJP in the hills.
Acting swiftly, the BJP issued a strongly worded statement to counter Thapa.
“In recent days, GTA Chairman Anit Thapa ji has become more desperate and he is lying his way around, claiming that the central government has not even given a single nail for the development of our region. If that is the case, I want to ask him, who does he think is providing the funds for the projects for which he goes around cutting the ribbons?” asked Raju Bista, the BJP’s Darjeeling MP, in a written statement.
“Does he not know that the funds for the construction of roads through Gramin Sadak Yojana, construction of homes through Gramin Awas Yojana, provisioning of drinking water through ‘Har Ghar Jal’ yojana, upgradation of Schools through Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan, upgradation of hospitals through Rural Health Mission, Old age pension, financial support for SC, ST, OBC, EBC communities and students, financial support for girl child, financial support for divyangs (specially abled), financial support for widows, and almost every development scheme currently being run through the GTA is being funded by the Central Government?” the MP’s statement read.
The BJP MP also issued a detailed list of projects and funds sanctioned by the Centre for the region.
According to Bista, the Centre sanctioned around Rs 1,500 crore for the construction of roads under the PMGSY, around Rs 6,010 crore for water supply schemes, Rs 12,000 crore for railways, Rs 3,000 crore for air connectivity and Rs 5,791 crore for road connectivity in the region.
The Darjeeling MP said the Centre had sanctioned around 1.1 lakh houses for his constituency.
The MP, however, did not specify the years of the central funding. In Bengal, the Centre has stopped funding some of the welfare schemes in recent years.
