The Trinamool leadership in Alipurduar has taken up the onus to print informative pamphlets carrying detailed information about the development work and initiatives taken by the Mamata Banerjee government for the people living in this northern district in a bid to negate the charges levelled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi, while speaking at a public meeting in Alipurduar town on May 29, had launched a scathing attack on the state government and the ruling TMC dispensation.
He had accused the state government of not being sincere in carrying out development in the region and alleged that it was depriving people of centrally sponsored social assistance schemes.
Soon after his public meeting, the chief minister had reacted sharply to Modi’s statements.
Also, on May 30, Mamata issued an elaborate post on social media, where she accused Modi of a “vicious and false campaign with a politically motivated point of view with narrow power gains”.
The chief minister had also termed Modi’s remarks as an attempt “to downplay and erase out the significant development works of the state government for the people in Alipurduar district,” and simultaneously shared data about the development of infrastructure, implementation of social welfare schemes and other initiatives taken by her government since 2011 when the Trinamool Congress assumed power.
These include creating a separate Alipurduar district, setting up healthcare centres, educational institutions, roads and bridges, giving land rights and houses for tea workers and facilities for farmers.
So far, the state has disbursed around ₹1,200 crore to the people of Alipurduar through various schemes, Mamata mentioned.
Following her move, TMC leaders have now decided to reach out to the people with data in the run-up to the 2026 Bengal elections.
Alipurduar, however, is a BJP stronghold. In the Assembly elections in 2021, although Mamata returned to power for the third consecutive time with a thumping majority, the BJP bagged all five Assembly seats of the district.
“We will publish pamphlets in Bengali, Hindi, Nepali and Sadri languages. Our workers will visit each household across the district, including tea estates and forest villages, and distribute the pamphlets so that people can have a clear idea of what the Mamata Banerjee government has done for them in all these years,” said Prakash Chik Baraik, the district TMC president.
“People here will not buy what the Prime Minister has said, as the Centre and the BJP have not done anything for the district. Still, we want to reach out to common people with facts so that they can question the BJP leaders on the false claims made by none other than the PM,” Baraik, also a Rajya Sabha MP, added.
Trinamool insiders said that though the party had lost all Assembly seats in the district in 2021, Alipurduar BJP MLA Suman Kanjilal joined their party later. “We won the Madarihat bypoll too. But as the Assembly elections are ahead, we will put in every effort to consolidate our support base by underscoring the development work done by the Mamata Banerjee government,” said a TMC leader.
WBCS language rejig
Darjeeling BJP MP Raju Bista wrote to chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday, flagging the changes in regional language options in the West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) exams. While Santhali and Hindi have been removed as compulsory paper options, Nepali has been ousted as an optional subject, putting many aspirants in trouble.