West Bengal’s political fault lines deepened as BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh ended his symbolic hunger strike at Siliguri’s Hati More Friday. The 24-hour vigil, started amid rising tensions, sought to defend opposition legislators’ rights and ease bureaucratic snarls in MLALAD fund utilization.
Tying the event to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s legacy, Ghosh offered floral tributes before concluding. In a pointed interview, he equated ruling TMC’s actions to colonial atrocities: ‘Netaji battled British excesses; today, we fight similar oppression from those in power against opposition leaders.’
Accusations flew thick: state machinery and TMC deliberately impeding opposition MLAs’ work. ‘Power misuse has been evident since my first day,’ Ghosh asserted, noting curtailed constitutional prerogatives and fund bottlenecks.
MLALAD allocations, meager to begin with, face engineered delays, crippling constituency progress from water schemes to community centers. Outreach efforts—a CM memorandum, official letters, mayor meeting requests—yielded silence.
Jabbing at district admin for fund hold-ups, Ghosh stressed constructive goals: protect rights, deliver development. As protests like this gain steam, they signal brewing unrest in Bengal’s polarized politics, challenging TMC’s grip.