Kolkata: Be it the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council during the erstwhile Left Front rule or the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration during the rule of Trinamool Congress, the autonomous body of the Darjeeling Hills has always been a contentious issue among the ruling and the opposition parties of Bengal over alleged financial irregularities and demands of proper audit of funds.
As the leader of the opposition, Mamata Banerjee had raised a clamour and now, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has yet again raised the issue. Recently the governor visited the hills and raised questions about the functioning of GTA. He alleged that the functioning of GTA has not been transparent at all and hence there is an urgent need for that audit.
On the other hand, the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee has stood by GTA authorities on this issue.
Now the question that is making the rounds in the midst of such controversies is whether in the name of development the hill politicians have misused crores of rupees that they have received from the Union and the state government for development purposes. However, barring BJP no other political party or political observers are in agreement with the governor.
During the earlier Left Front, when GNLF leader, Subhash Ghising was in charge of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, the opposition’s main allegation was corruption and they also demanded the same audit of DGHC. Mamata Banerjee, as the then opposition leader was most vocal in this regard.
Afterwards, during the Trinamool Congress regime, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration was formed, whose control was first in the hands of Bimal Gurung and then Benoy Tamang and Anit Thapa. Then the opposition Left Front and Congress played the same tune of corruption in GTA functioning and demanded an audit.
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Now, with BJP as the principal opposition party in the state, nothing seems to have changed except that the governor himself has become vocal on the issue along the same lines.
However, despite crying corruption and audit theories, none of the opposition parties have been able to pinpoint the exact sources or factors of that corruption. Naturally, the question arises whether this audit theory is just a traditional political mudslinging practice in hill politics.
Former GJM legislator from Kalimpong assembly constituency and veteran face in Darjeeling hill politics, Dr Harka Bahadur Chhetri strongly criticized the governor’s stand. “The governor’s comments are politically motivated. He came to the hills but did not spare a single word about the living conditions of the people here. He did not even have a meeting with the administrative officials to have a clear picture. He just discussed some leaders of his favourite political party and alleged corruption. His comments can ignite violence in the hills again,” Chhetri said.
Trinamool Congress’s Rajya Sabha member and a once close associate of Subhash Ghising, Santa Chhetri is in agreement with Dr Harka Bahadur Chhetri. “The governor is trying to disturb the peace in the hills. If he wants to know anything he can seek information from the state government. Instead of doing that, he came to the hills and just tried to create an air of tension. This is unacceptable from a governor,” Santa Chhetri said.
Reacting to the governor’s comments, Anit Thapa, a member of GTA’s board of administrators said they are ready to face any sort of audit. “But the manner in which the governor alleged corruption is unacceptable. His comments are unacceptable. GTA's main aim is the development of hills and the people staying there, employment generation and revival of the tourism industry. We will continue to do that. The common people know that the governor is not impartial and hence he is speaking like a political spokesperson,” Thapa said.
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Speaking on this issue, veteran journalist, an expert in hill politics and writer of the book “The Buddha and the Borders”, Nirmalya Bandopadhyay said that audit is a weapon that opposition parties have always used, be it against DGHC then or GTA now. “But it is unfortunate that instead of concentrating on the development of the hills, the ruling party at the centre once supported the separatist forces. And the common people had to pay for this. The urgent requirement now for the hills is the immediate repair of adjacent national highways. Instead of taking initiative on that, the governor is engaging himself in politics,” he added.
