MLA faces Cong protest over SJDA snub

Jalpaiguri, Feb. 26: Placard-wielding Congress workers today demonstrated in front of the SJDA chairperson, demanding that the party’s Jalpaiguri MLA and local municipality chief should be made part of the development agency.Rudranath Bhattacharya, the Trinamul MLA from Siliguri who also heads the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority, was attending the inauguration of a newly constructed bus terminus at Bowbazar here when the protest took place.Around 25 members of the Bowbazar Nagarik Committee, a largely Congress-dominated forum, started demonstrating when Bhattacharya took to the stage for the inauguration around 2.30pm.Jalpaiguri civic chairperson Mohan Basu, Rajgunj Trinamul MLA Khageswar Roy and newly-selected SJDA committee member Chandan Bhowmick were also on the dais.Facing the stage, Rabi Bhattacharya, a Congress leader from Bowbazar, wanted to know why Jalpaiguri MLA Sukhabilas Barman and the civic chief were not on the SJDA’s committee. “When the Left Front was in power, both the MLA and the municipal chairperson of the Congress were members of the SJDA. As the new government has ignored the local representatives, they won’t be able to monitor the activities of the SJDA or provide suggestions for development,” said Rabi.The protesters were holding placards with slogans that read “SJDA committee te Jalpaiguri Sadar bidhayak o pouropati bad keno? Jabab chai (Why is the Jalpaiguri MLA and civic chief not on SJDA committee, we want an answer) and withdrew after 20 minutes.According to Basu, Bhattacharya asked him on the dais why some people were demonstrating. “I told him that the inclusion of the municipal chairpersons in the SJDA committee was mandatory. How else can SJDA projects be implemented in the municipal areas. I also said the Jalpaiguri MLA, too, should have been nominated to the SJDA committee,” said Basu.The Siliguri MLA told reporters that he had nothing to do with the selection of the SJDA members. “They are chosen by the municipal and urban development department. I don’t want to comment on the protest.”(Telegraph)