Left members write to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on department merger and teacher issue

Kolkata: Left Front members today sent two seperate letters to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on dilution of focus on refugee relief by the government and about confirming temporary teachers in Darjeeling district.

Left Front Legislature party leader Sujan Chakraborty urged the chief minister to reconsider the decision of merging the Refugee Relief & Rehabilitation Department with Land and land Reforms.

Explaining that the merger of the department will dilute rehabilitation activities in the state when 20 per cent population is estimated to belong to refugee families.

In the letter, Chakraborty also highlighted that even 70 years of Independence still 1,700 refugee colonies are not yet registered with the Centre.

Even in the permitted colonies land acquisition is not complete including registation papers work.

Chakraborty told reporters that with the merging of the departments the independent identity of the department was lost and as a result people of the state would only suffer.

While another CPI(M) member Asok Bhattacharya highlighted reports of selective invitation on text messages to confirm the temporary teachers beloning to certain political parties.

Bhattacharya said that government should explain the criteria of forming councils and should hold an all-party meeting in this regard.