BMS and BJP MLA to Skip Tea Workers' Meeting in Siliguri
BMS says event has nothing to do with workers' daily lives, MLA protests silence on tea workers' issues
The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), the trade union supported by the RSS, and BJP Kurseong MLA B.P. Sharma have opted not to attend the party's gathering of tea workers on Sunday in Siliguri.
Prior to the Lok Sabha elections, the party has organized an event at Dagapur, a town on the northern edge of the city, to reenergize its support base there.
Three parliamentary districts in north Bengal—Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar—depend on the support of the tea industry. All three seats were won by the BJP in 2019.
According to sources in the BMS, it would be preferable if the BJP leaders in this area took a more practical approach to solving the concerns of employees and their families by reaching out to them rather than attending the meeting called by the BJP's trade union relations cell.
"In order to better understand workers' conditions, our trade union organizes and participates in a variety of grassroots events. We don't think that some booming statements from the dais will help them, according to a BMS source.
Senior union officials stated that although they always prefer to start from scratch, the political rally on Sunday "has nothing to do with the workers' daily existence."
They will not be present, according to Biswajit Guha, the BMS state secretary.
We are an apolitical organization, therefore going to a political event is out of the question. Guha added over the phone, "Our trade union works for tea workers, but never from any political platform.
The MLA for Kurseong, who has criticized the Centre for ignoring the hills' desire for a long-term political solution, would not be present at the meeting. The BJP intends to attend the gathering with thousands of tea workers from the Terai, the Dooars, and the Darjeeling hills.
"I'll abstain from the meeting out of protest. This is due to our party's elected MLAs from tea-growing regions remaining silent in the Assembly on matters affecting tea workers, according to Sharma.
Against the BJP, the BMS leadership has taken a "significant" stance, according to a political analyst.
"The tea belt has a strong organization of the RSS. This organizational power of the RSS and its affiliates helped the BJP win seats in both the most recent Parliamentary elections and the 2021 Assembly elections," he said.
Siliguri (organizational) district BJP officials declined to comment on the BMS and MLA's decision to abstain.
