Congress leaders of Darjeeling tested waters in and around Siliguri with a rally to protest Centre’s new farm laws and held a public meeting at Baghajatin Park on Saturday.
The Congress, which allied with the Left for the state polls, could bring in around 5,000 supporters to the rally led by PCC president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, district chief Sankar Malakar and others.
Adhir slammed the Trinamul-led state government for failing to harness the tourism potential of Darjeeling and north Bengal and create jobs for residents. He also questioned Morcha leader Bimal Gurung’s recent U-turn from the BJP to Trinamul.
“He (Gurung) was earlier hounded by the state government and accused of perpetrating violence. But now, things have changed and he has bowed down before the chief minister. This politics is unacceptable,” said Adhir.
It was during the Congress tenure at the Centre that the issue of Darjeeling was resolved through talks both in the 1980s and in 2012 (when the DGHC and the GTA were formed), he pointed out.
