Cong to support TMC in setting up Panchayat boards at Malda

Kolkata: The Congress Committee in Malda has unanimously decided to support Trinamool Congress to set up Panchayat boards in the district.

Congress MP Mausam Benazir Noor said the party has decided to support Trinamool Congress to stop BJP's progress in the district. There are 146 Gram Panchayats in Malda, where no party has gained majority to form the board. In such cases, Congress will give support to Trinamool to form the board. "We must stop the progress of BJP in Malda," said Noor.

Welcoming the decision, Partha Chatterjee, Trinamool Congress secretary general, alleged that BJP is trying to incite people throughout the state to stall the development that is being carried out by the state government.

"BJP's attempt to create trouble in Bengal will not be successful. The people in Bengal are politically conscious and they know who is creating trouble and playing divisive politics," he said.

Chatterjee regretted that in some districts, Congress has joined hands with BJP and CPI-M to take control over the Panchayat boards.

WBPCC president Adhir Chowdhury said no permission of WBPCC is required to take local decisions. He said: "Though WBPCC has not been consulted before taking any decision by the Malda unit, such permission is not required. Panchayat is a local issue and here local equations play very important roles," he maintained.

Malda is the only district where Trinamool Congress does not have any MLA. Though Trinamool got 211 seats in the 2016 Assembly elections, two ministers from the district - Krishnendu narayan Chowdhury and Sabitri Mitra, could not retain their seats.

Trinamool does not have any MP from the district. Malda is considered to be a Congress stronghold from the time of ABA Ghani Khan Chowdhury. But over the years, Trinamool Congress has created a dent in the Congress stronghold and bagged the Malda Zilla Parishad in the 2018 Panchayat election.