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'They'll be removed from Bengal!' Adhikari on father's removal as DSDA chief
Sisir Adhikari has been removed from the post of chairman of Digha Shankharpur Development Authority (DSDA) in East Midnapore district.
The Mamata Banerjee government on Tuesday afternoon removed Sisir Adhikari, father of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari, from the post of chairman of Digha Shankharpur Development Authority (DSDA) in East Midnapore district.
Suvendu Adhikari reacted sharply to his father's removal, saying those who removed him "will be removed from West Bengal in May," he told the local media on the sidelines of a BJP rally at Asansol in West Burdwan district.
Digha and Shankharpur are the most important among Bengal’s beach towns and both play a key role in the state’s tourism industry.
Sisir Adhikari is the eldest among Trinamool Congress (TMC) Lok Sabha members and has been Mamata Banerjee’s close associate since the birth of the party in 1998. Suvendu, his second son, used to represents East Midnapore’s Nandigram seat till he resigned from the legislative assembly and the TMC to join the BJP in presence of Union home minister Amit Shah on December 19 along with six sitting MLAs, the Burdwan South Lok Sabha MP and more than a dozen ruling party leaders from the districts.
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Days later, Suvendu’s younger brother Soumendu was replaced as the head of the Kanthi civic body. He has moved the Calcutta High Court, challenging the order.
While Sisir Adhikari represents the Kanthi Lok Sabha seat, his eldest son Dibyendu is the TMC Lok Sabha member from Tamluk.
Sisir Adhikari said he did not receive any order from the government regarding the reshuffle in the DSDA, Akhil Giri, the TMNC lawmaker from Ramnagar, who was the vice-chairman, confirmed that he would be heading the DSDA.
“Sisir Adhikari is a senior leader and we all respect him but he is not keeping well these days and hence unable to give time to the DSDA,” said Giri, who is a known detractor of Suvendu Adhikari.
“Sisir Adhikari is a respected and senior leader in the TMC. His removal from the DSDA is not surprising because the party is run by a family,” said BJP national vice-president Mukul Roy who left the TMC in 2017.
Ever since Suvendu and Soumendu Adhikari joined the BJP there were speculations in political circles that Sisir Adhikari might be removed from the post of president of the TMC's East Midnapore district unit. Till Tuesday evening, however, no such announcements were made.
Incidentally, BJP leaders have confirmed that Suvendu Adhikari is tipped to be the next chairman of Jute Corporation of India, which plays an important role in the state’s jute industry.
