Nov. 24: Stung by criticisms made by the Left Democratic Front, the Gorkha National Liberation Front today slammed the CPM for its “pack of lies”.

Asok Bhattacharya, urban development and municipal affairs minister, had yesterday alleged that the ruling GNLF ran the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council “undemocratically and corruptly”.

Deepak Gurung, the president of the GNLF Darjeeling branch committee, said: “The minister should never have made those allegations. His statements were aimed at tarnishing our image before the voters. The GNLF rules the DGHC with the mandate of the people and has continued to develop the hills. The minister’s allegations are a pack of lies.”

Bhattacharya had alleged that the murder of the GNLF leaders were due to a fallout of intra-party rivalry and due to the “contract raj” that had cropped up within the DGHC.

Referring to Bhattacharya’s claim that the recent murders of GNLF’s leaders were related to contract feuds, the GNLF said the murders were a fallout of law and order failure.

The GNLF has long demanded that the control over law and order in the region be handed over to them.

The state government, which has handed over about 26 department to the DGHC since its inception in 1988, has retained the home department.

Even as, the GNLF was reacting to Bhattacharya’s comments made yesterday, the minister accused the ruling party of keeping quiet against the Centre’s privatisation policies and the closure of the tea gardens in north Bengal.

“The tea gardens are facing numerous problems and many are closing down in the hills but the GNLF has not raised its voice against this menace,” said Bhattacharya at a LDF convention in Town Hall in Kalimpong today.

Hurling fresh charges of corruption against the DGHC, Bhattacharya said: “A lot of funds have flowed into the hills for development but the DGHC has failed to utilise it properly. Corruption plagues the council.”

Asserting the LDF was the only party that could bring peace and development in the hills, Bhattacharya said: “The Left Front was the first to demand regional autonomy for the hills and recognition of the Nepali language. We are holding the convention because we want to bring about development here.” The minister also claimed that other Opposition parties did not have any agenda or programme for the hills. “A programme and agenda should be there if one wants to function properly. We have chalked out a programme for the people here,” said Bhattacharya.

Meanwhile, the largest Opposition party in the hills, the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists, also expressed dissatisfaction over the CPM minister’s comments yesterday.

D.S. Bomzon, the party spokesman, said: “The CPM is only pin-pointing the problems of the DGHC but has done nothing to solve them.”

The CPRM has in the past maintained the state government set up a vigilance commission to investigate the alleged corruption cases against the DGHC.