Cong leaders not hopeful in Malda

MALDA, May 13: Though the Malda Congress has fielded its candidates in all 39 seats for panchayat samiti in Kaliachak-III, the district leaders are not hopeful about positive results to retain the board. The reason: A total of sixteen Congress members of the Kaliachak-III panchayat samiti including sabhapati and saha-sabhapati are now in Malda jail on charges of misappropriation of funds allotted for flood relief. The CPI-M has taken this opportunity to regain the board campaigning against the Congress focusing administrative action against those Congress members who could not execute several government programmes in the interest of the people in Kaliachak-III panchayat samiti. Now almost all people of this area are aware of the corruption charges against sixteen Congress members of the board. It may be recalled that the district administration had lodged an FIR against 20 Congress members of the board on the charges of misappropriation of funds of Rs 17 lakh allotted for the poor who were rendered homeless due to flood in 2006. Police arrested 16 persons in this connection including the sabhapati Mr Rajendranath Das and saha-sabhapati Mrs Bharati Razak and 10 office bearers of the board. Four of them are still absconding. n sns