Lack of development issue in Darjeeling: Bhutia
25 March 2014 11:59 PM GMT
‘If people have no jobs, if they remain half-starved and if their children are not getting proper education, they are bound to fill the streets and agitate,’ Bhutia, former captain of India’s national football team, told PTI.
‘The real issue in the hills is development for all. Since only a government can bring development to a region, it is the Trinamool Congress which is running the state government can do it,’ Bhutia explained.
Bhutia’s appeal for support from the Morcha was earlier spurned by its chief Bimal Gurung. Bhutia called up Gurung, whom he addressed as ‘daju’, on March 10 seeking his support even though the TMC had earlier ruled out partnering with the Morcha in the hills.
Bhutia is not happy at being called an ‘outsider’ by the Morcha and said if he were indeed so, so were the sitting Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh of the BJP and present nominee of that party S S Ahluwalia.
‘I am never an outsider. I have always stood by the people of the hills in their time of distress, be it an earthquake or any happy occasion. I have always been there,’ he argued.
Bhutia’s nomination by the TMC has raised eyebrows in many quarters with doubts expressed over whether a successful player can make a successful public representative too.
Asked about this, Bhutia bristled: ‘Nobody is born a politician. Neither Narendra Modi nor Rahul Gandhi were born as politicians. Just like a game of sports, a politician too has to learn politics over time. I personally feel successful sportspersons can also make good politicians.’
Explaining his argument, the footballer said a player is successful when he toils hard to perform on the field and to win the respect and love of the people. Likewise, a politician too can gain the trust of the people by performing sincerely and tirelessly.
‘The real issue in the hills is development for all. Since only a government can bring development to a region, it is the Trinamool Congress which is running the state government can do it,’ Bhutia explained.
Bhutia’s appeal for support from the Morcha was earlier spurned by its chief Bimal Gurung. Bhutia called up Gurung, whom he addressed as ‘daju’, on March 10 seeking his support even though the TMC had earlier ruled out partnering with the Morcha in the hills.
Bhutia is not happy at being called an ‘outsider’ by the Morcha and said if he were indeed so, so were the sitting Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh of the BJP and present nominee of that party S S Ahluwalia.
‘I am never an outsider. I have always stood by the people of the hills in their time of distress, be it an earthquake or any happy occasion. I have always been there,’ he argued.
Bhutia’s nomination by the TMC has raised eyebrows in many quarters with doubts expressed over whether a successful player can make a successful public representative too.
Asked about this, Bhutia bristled: ‘Nobody is born a politician. Neither Narendra Modi nor Rahul Gandhi were born as politicians. Just like a game of sports, a politician too has to learn politics over time. I personally feel successful sportspersons can also make good politicians.’
Explaining his argument, the footballer said a player is successful when he toils hard to perform on the field and to win the respect and love of the people. Likewise, a politician too can gain the trust of the people by performing sincerely and tirelessly.
Next Story
