Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Manas Bhuniya has written to the West Bengal Speaker,Hashim Abdul Halim,to expel two former Congress MLAs Somen Mitra and Sudip Bandopadhyay from Assembly under anti-defection laws. It is immoral that even after joining another party or setting up their own party, they will continue officiating as Congress MLAs in the state Assembly, said Bhuniya. While Mitra has formed his own party Pragatishil Indira Congress Sudip Bandopadhyay has joined the Trinamool Congress. Mitra is a Congress MLA from Sealdah,whereas Bandopadhyay represents Burrabazar. We have written to the Speaker so that they are disqualified as per constitutional provisions and anti-defection laws, Bhuniya added. Earlier on January 9,the Congress Legislature Party leader had written to both the MLAs asking them to clear their stand on this issue. According to Bhuniya,the party wanted them to resign on their own but unfortunately this did not happen. Bhuniya said that as the leader of the CLP he has done his job with the consent of the partys top leaders and now it is up to the Speaker to decide on the fate of the MLAs. He also criticised the state government for poor implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and various tribal development projects. A lot of money has been allocated to tribal development, Bhuniya said,adding that a three-member team of the joint secretary level from the Department of Rural Development,Planning Commission and Tribal Development will visit the state on February 7. The team will review the development projects taken up by the Bengal government in Bankura,Purulia and West Midnapore. Bhuniya said the Youth Congress and the Chhatra Parishad have prepared a detailed report on the implementation of the development programmes and it will be sent to Congress president Sonia Gandhi,Rahul Gandhi and Pranab Mukherjee.
