Asim Kumar Pramanik
BEHRAMPORE, 23 DEC: ‘Khela Hobe’ (there will be game), the oft-quoted slogan of the Trinamul Congress party leaders including the party chief, Mamata Banerjee, seems to be back on track with a new version – playing ‘musical chairs’ with offices of the Pradhans of TMC-led Gram Panchayats, the local self-governments in rural Bengal. A series of no-confidence moved by the TMC members against the elected head of GP office belonging their own party has been reported time and again in Murshidabad district.
Whether the ‘game’ has backfired or it involved any hidden agenda came to be explained today with the removal of a GP chief who happens to be a woman TMC leader.
With the majority support of TMC members, the elected Gram Panchayat member, Khaleda Bibi had become the Pradhan of Aurangabad-I GP of Suti-II block in Murshidabad district. The same lot of TMC members moved a no-confidence motion against the elderly woman and removed her from the post of GP Pradhan yesterday.
The female TMC leader today alleged that the senior TMC leaders of the locality backed the no-confidence against her because she could not meet the extortion demand of some TMC leaders. She attributed her removal to TMC’s culture of extorting money from GP office.
The Block TMC leadership, however, denied her allegation and filed a case of falsehood and defamation at Suti police station today.
“My party leaders asked me for Rs. 13 lakh. My party colleagues urged me to withdraw the money from the GP office and hand it over to them. I have been elected to serve the people. Misusing GP funds is not my task. When I declined their corrupt proposal, they moved no-confidence against me”, the ousted GP chief told reporters today. “Now the party (TMC) is trying to frame me, my husband and my family members”, she alleged.
Removal of Pradhans from their GP offices by way of self-imposed no-confidence has been called in question by many of the top TMC leaders earlier and the district TMC leaders also had proclaimed before the media that steps would be taken against those moving no-confidence against their own party leaders (Pradhans of TMC) but the practice, it appears, remains unchecked.
Tags: #NoConfidenceMotion #GramPanchayat #TMC #Murshidabad