Siliguri, 19th January: BJP MLA from Siliguri, Shankar Ghosh, on Monday announced that he will sit on a hunger strike on January 22, accusing the state government and district administration of creating obstacles in the utilisation of MLA development funds.
Addressing a press conference, Ghosh said the district administration has stalled the release of funds citing various reasons, which has affected development work and deprived residents of basic benefits. He claimed that the matter had been raised several times, both orally and in writing, with the district administration, the state government, the Siliguri-Jalpaiguri Development Authority and the Siliguri Mayor, but no action was taken.
The MLA alleged that the funds were being deliberately withheld as part of a political strategy to damage his image. He said development projects were being stalled to serve political interests rather than public welfare.
Responding to the claims, Siliguri Mayor Gautam Deb rejected the allegations and said the statements made by the MLA were false. He added that observing a day-long fast is good for health and stated that the decision to go on a hunger strike is a personal matter.