TMC ally Anit Thapa quits as GTA chief amid corruption probe heat
Darjeeling hills leader resigns as GTA head a day after West Bengal CM Adhikari vowed action over alleged fund embezzlement; BGPM signals cooperation with BJP govt for regional development
Darjeeling (WB), Jun 17 (PTI) BGPM president Anit Thapa on Wednesday said he has resigned as the chief executive of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), the semi-autonomous body that governs the hills of Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal.
Thapa, an ally of the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, announced his resignation on social media within 24 hours of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari stating that his government would probe the corruption allegations against the GTA and act against those found guilty.
Besides quitting as the chief executive, he resigned as a member of the GTA.
Sources close to Thapa said the BGPM would now cooperate with the BJP government in the state for the development of the hills.
Thapa broke away from the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) and formed the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM).
With the support of TMC, Thapa's BGPM contested all three assembly seats in the hills -- Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong, and lost to the BJP.
The GTA was set up by the Mamata Banerjee government in 2011 to placate members of the agitating Gorkha community who were demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland, carved out of West Bengal.
During his visit to Kurseong on Tuesday, CM Adhikari claimed the previous government had allocated Rs 180 crore for the GTA during the 2024-25 fiscal, but no work was done, and the money was embezzled.
"We will allocate more than twice that amount and work according to a roadmap which is being prepared by our government for building a medical college in the hills and development of roads and bridges in the region," he said.
"Those who stole public money will be sent to jail. We will spare no one. Na khaunga, na khane dunga (Will neither take bribes, nor will let others take them)," he also said, referring to alleged irregularities in the appointment of teachers in GTA-run schools.
During the campaign for the West Bengal polls, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had promised a "permanent political solution" within the framework of the Constitution for the hills, without dividing the state. PTI