Union minister Prahlad Singh Patel on Sunday took a swipe at West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee saying the state was a victim of government’s negligence and that the Bharatiya Janata Party will win over 200 seats in the assembly elections slated for later this year.
The minister also accused the Trinamool Congress government of digressing from the path of progress and ignoring the local art and culture. “Nature has given everything to Darjeeling, but this area has been the victim of the negligence of the state government. There is no improvement in the status of tea garden workers,” Patel told reporters during his stay in Darjeeling. He also attacked the wage board for tea garden workers and the state government for lease-related issues.
Promising a solution to the Gorkha problems in the region, Patel said, “our manifesto is our resolution letter. We believe in the timebound solution to the problem. Whatever promises we make, we fulfil that within the stipulated time. We will find a permanent political solution to the Gorkha problems.”
Alleging that there is no platform available for conducting cultural activities in Darjeeling, the Union minister demanded that the Bengal government provide a place like Tagore Culture Space and said if the state government provides the land, his ministry can do a lot of work here in the field of art and culture. “The culture of Bengal is very rich but there is a lack of institutions through which the artists of this place may know about the culture, and work to further improve it,” he added. He promised that when his party comes to power in Bengal, a lot of work will be done in the art and culture domain.
{{/usCountry}}Alleging that there is no platform available for conducting cultural activities in Darjeeling, the Union minister demanded that the Bengal government provide a place like Tagore Culture Space and said if the state government provides the land, his ministry can do a lot of work here in the field of art and culture. “The culture of Bengal is very rich but there is a lack of institutions through which the artists of this place may know about the culture, and work to further improve it,” he added. He promised that when his party comes to power in Bengal, a lot of work will be done in the art and culture domain.
{{/usCountry}}Criticising the government on lack of development, Patel said that many types of taxes are collected here since the time of the British, but facilities are not provided in accordance. He alleged that MPs of opposition parties in Bengal cannot spend their MPLAD funds for the development works which is why the people of Bengal want change and “that will happen”.