Kolkata, May 24 -- After North 24-Parganas, alleged attempts to destabilise municipal boards have now reached Kanthi in East Midnapore, with the Trinamool Congress accusing the BJP of trying to take control of civic bodies through intimidation and political pressure.
The TMC alleged that despite publicly claiming it would not capture municipalities or panchayats, BJP leaders were engineering the collapse of elected civic boards by forcing councillors to resign. On the issue, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said: "During my tenure 30 per cent of Panchayats were under opposition control, but we never forced them to stop working."
Kanthi Municipality has now emerged as the latest political flashpoint after similar developments in Halisahar and Bhatpara. The Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department recently dissolved the TMC-run board and handed over administrative responsibility to Kanthi Sub-Divisional Officer Dhumal Pratik Ashok. The move came after 13 TMC councillors, including the vice-chairman, resigned from the 21-member board, creating an administrative deadlock. Officials said the Kanthi SDO had submitted a report highlighting the paralysis in the municipality, following which the board was dissolved and an administrator appointed.
The TMC claimed the resignations were not voluntary and alleged that councillors were forced to step down under political pressure. Similar tensions have also reportedly surfaced in Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation. In Nadia's Aranghata Panchayat, BJP workers allegedly forced the woman Pradhan to resign.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.