'N Bengal neglected by Kolkata'
| Published date | 10 August 2024 |
| Author | SNS |
| Publication title | Statesman, The (India) |
A: See Trinamool Congress is fundamentally against the development and progress of North Bengal. Even the TMC MPs and MLAs from North Bengal are coming to this realization. TMC is a south-Bengal-oriented party, and they see the entire North as a colonial outpost, from where they will extract the resources and revenues, but they will not take any steps towards its development. In the 2024-25 WB budget of Rs 3.7 Lakh crores, the WB Govt has only allocated Rs 861 crores for the development of North Bengal. This is 0.002 per cent of the total budget. Even out of this, in reality, they will spend less than Rs 300 crores only; this is what they have done, if you check all previous budgets as well. How can the eight North Bengal districts develop with so little funds? So Sukanta Da has only echoed what the majority of the people in North Bengal have been feeling. The inclusion of North Bengal in the NE Council will expedite the development of our region, and bring additional funds, investments, and schemes like the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS), the North East Rural Livelihood Project (NERLP) etc will be implemented. TMC is opposed to any development of North Bengal, so they are only trying to mislead the people of the state.
Q: Is this a political strategy to appease the people of North Bengal, or is it a plan to create a separate state of North Bengal? A: See what happens in the future is for the future to tell. But, currently, the people of North Bengal are discriminated against and deprived by the TMC Govt. Q: Why is a section of people demanding a separate state of North Bengal? Is this feasible?
A: The fact of the matter is, if you speak about feasibility, West Bengal state became unfeasible some 30 years ago, and the problem has been exacerbated in the past 12 years. CPI-M left West Bengal under a debt of Rs 1.95 lakh crore, in the past 12 years TMC has raised that...
To continue reading
Request your trial