Siliguri witnessed a bold act of defiance when BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh embarked on a hunger strike to champion opposition lawmakers’ rights. Launched January 22, the protest decries the West Bengal government’s alleged throttling of MLALAD funds and constitutional prerogatives.
Ghosh painted a grim picture: TMC’s reign of intimidation, where opposition voices are muzzled and development stalled. ‘Elected representatives are reduced to spectators in their own constituencies,’ he lamented, citing ignored pleas to Mamata Banerjee, the Assembly Speaker, Chief Secretary, and Siliguri’s mayor.
The MLALAD fund—meager to begin with—faces artificial bottlenecks, from delayed disbursements to outright rejections, per Ghosh’s claims against the district administration. This, he argues, deprives citizens of essential infrastructure and services.
Frustrated by bureaucratic roadblocks, the MLA chose fasting as his weapon, vowing to persist until January 23. His message is clear: restore rights, release funds, enable progress.
Beyond personal grievance, this signals deepening rifts in Bengal’s assembly, where opposition MLAs battle for relevance. As supporters gather, the strike amplifies calls for fair play in governance.
Could this hunger strike catalyze change, or merely fuel partisan fires? In a state primed for elections, Ghosh’s stand resonates as a test of democratic health.