Siliguri, 07th May: As tension over the novel coronavirus engulfs the entire nation, satirical posters of ‘missing’ MP Raju Bista were seen at various places of Siliguri, late Wednesday evening.
The posters, bearing phrases like ‘Where is MP?’ , ‘Wanted, MP Raju Bista’, clearly criticized the role of the MP amid the pandemic. However, it is not yet known who put up the posters at various locations including Mahatma Gandhi Chowk (Airview More), Burdwan Road as they do not carry name of any person, party or organisation.
The District BJP leaders, on Thursday afternoon, strongly condemned the incident and lodged a complaint at the Siliguri police station, under the leadership of Siliguri District Organizational BJP President Praveen Agarwal.
In this context, Agarwal expressed outrage and stated that the MP has adopted enough initiatives to help people deal with the pandemic so far and has also donated his salary to the relief funds. He further accused the TMC leaders of being behind the act and demanded a proper police investigation.
Meanwhile, Darjeeling District TMC President Ranjan Sarkar, over a telephonic conversation on Wednesday evening, maintained that he has no idea where the posters came from. But he also held MP Bista responsible and accused him of not meeting a single person from his constituency during such a crisis and stated that the posters might have been a gesture to express the rage of the people.
While it remains a mystery over who might have put up the posters, amid the COVID-19 pandemic the political atmosphere in Siliguri surely has boiled up.