Yet another TMC leader lashes out at party leadership

Discontent in the Trinamool Congress (TMC) showed no signs of subsiding as on Monday senior MLA and Chairperson of the Board of Administrators of the Asansol Municipal Corporation (AMC) Jitendra Tewari alleged that they were not allowed to accept Central funds of Rs 2000 crore under the Smart City Project by the state government due to “political reasons".

“Asansol was chosen under this project as a result of tremendous work effort of councillors and the entire team of AMC leading to be qualified as a city to be chosen under this but due to political reasons we were not allowed to get the benefits of this project by the state government,” stated Tewari.

He is also the TMC president in West Bardhaman district.

Writing to Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, Tewari further alleged that the state government did not keep its promise of allotting funds for the development of Asansol city.

“It was instead promised that funds will be made available by the State Government for overall development of this city but it was not done,” stated Tiwari.

Accusing the Urban Development Minister and his Department of not allowing AMC fund of Rs1500 core under the Centre’s Solid Waste Management Project Tiwari stated that “injustice” was being done to Asansol.

The letter sparked a war of words between Tiwari and Hakim. Expressing his displeasure over the incident Hakim said that “ he (Tiwari) was wrong in sending such a letter without raising the issue directly to him...He should not have created such an unnecessary controversy.”He also said that perhaps Tewari was “misled” by the BJP.

Tewari hit back by saying that “ I am only concerned with what Mamata Banerjee says and don’t bother about the rest.”

Earlier, senior TMC leader and erstwhile close aid of the Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had resigned as a Cabinet Minister voicing his displeasure against the party leadership. Forest Minister Rajib Banerjee had also expressed unhappiness over how the party was being run.

Union Minister and BJP MP from Asansol Babul Supriyo said that " Tewari's letter vindicates BJP's claim that the State Government was obstructing development for narrow-minded politics."