Darjeeling MP Raju Bista today urged the central government to establish an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Siliguri, highlighting the severe healthcare challenges faced by north Bengal.
Darjeeling MP Raju Bista met Union home minister Amit Shah yesterday during the ongoing Parliament session, urging him to expedite tripartite talks for a resolution to the longstanding political issues of the Hills.
Darjeeling MP Raju Bista today raised critical concerns in Parliament regarding the West Bengal government’s controversial land policy, which he warned could displace indigenous communities in the Darjeeling Hills, Terai, and Dooars regions.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, speaking to the media in Kolkata yesterday, clarified that only 15 per cent of tea plantation land will be used for tea tourism and local employment.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has also joined the chorus, demanding justice for Prakriti and other students who were allegedly assaulted during protests following her death.
In a strong show of opposition, 12 leaders, including BJP MPs, MLAs, and trade union representatives, held an emergency meeting today to protest West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s plan to transfer 30 per cent of tea plantation land for commercial use.
Darjeeling MP Raju Bista met with civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu to discuss the ongoing Bagdogra Airport expansion project.
Darjeeling MP Raju Bista has strongly opposed chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to allow 30 per cent of tea garden land to be diverted for non-tea purposes, calling it a “dangerous and dictatorial” policy that could displace indigenous communities.
Darjeeling MP Raju Bista underscored the critical role of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) in safeguarding the Darjeeling Hills, Terai, and Dooars, which include the strategically significant “Chicken Neck” region of India.
Darjeeling MP Raju Bista raised the issue of re-inclusion of 11 excluded Gorkha sub-tribes—Gurung, Bhujel, Mangar, Newar, Jogi, Khas, Rai, Sunwar, Thami, Yakkha, and Dhimal—as Scheduled Tribes (ST) in Parliament, emphasising the urgency of the matter.
