'CM will fulfill all pre-poll commitments to Hills'

Darjeeling: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will fulfill all the pre-poll commitments made in the Hills, declared Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Binay Tamang. A GJM (Binay faction) team sat in back-to-back meetings with Banerjee and Trinamool Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee in Kolkata on Tuesday.

"We had a nearly hour-long meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on different issues pertaining to the Hills. She has stated that she will fulfill all the commitments she has made, including solving the identity issue of the Gorkhas. Amar Singh Rai will be the new Chief Advisor to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA)," stated Tamang.

The GJM president claimed that Banerjee has stated that the alliance between TMC and GJM (Binay faction) will continue and for the 2021 Assembly elections, GJM candidates will be backed by TMC in the three Assembly constituencies of the Hills, namely Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong.

The GJM delegation comprised Tamang, GTA chairman Anit Thapa and Amar Singh Rai, chairman, Uttar Banga Unnayan Parshad.

The team then met state Education minister Partha Chatterjee and discussed various issues pertaining to the Education department. "We will first review the issue of recruitment of teachers and then hand over the appointments," stated Tamang.

Recently, there was a list doing the rounds on social media, alleging nepotism and corruption in the appointment list of regularisation of ad-hoc teachers.

"The list is not official and no appointment letter has been handed over to the persons. It is a baseless allegation and has been done to malign us. The official process of appointment will be initiated shortly," alleged Tamang.

Incidentally, the TMC-GJM (Binay faction) alliance has failed to bag the MP and MLA seats in Darjeeling. The seats were won by BJP candidates Raju Bishta and Neeraj Zimba respectively.

"We don't know how much Raju Bishta and Neeraj Zimba will do for the Hills. Despite losing, we however assure all that we will live up to our pre-poll commitments and will fulfill them in the next 23 months," added Tamang. The list of the pre-poll commitments include "Patta" (land documents) for tea garden and cinchona plantation workers, along with forest village dwellers and others living in the municipal area.