"We will be starting Panchayat Raj in the hills": West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh
May 20, 2026
Siliguri (West Bengal) [India], May 20 : West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh on Wednesday said the state government was focusing on the development of North Bengal and announced plans to introduce the Panchayat Raj system in the hills along with efforts to improve infrastructure.
Speaking to ANI, Ghosh said several developmental measures were being planned for the region.
"We are thinking about the development of North Bengal. We will be starting Panchayat Raj in the hills and improving infrastructure. We have to work on many things that the earlier government lacked," Ghosh said.
Earlier, Dilip Ghosh also hit out at TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday over the meeting called by her with party MLAs to announce a protest against the "bulldozer culture," stating that the meetings would have been meaningful if conducted during her tenure as Chief Minister.
Speaking with the media, Ghosh said that the former CM Banerjee did not pay heed to the issues of state interest or people's suffering earlier, adding that the meeting should have been conducted earlier.
"...Earlier, the CM had no idea what was happening in Bengal... If the meetings that they are conducting now were conducted earlier and understood people's suffering, the scenario would be something different," he said.
This comes after the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) announced to launch protests across Kolkata and adjoining areas on May 21 against the alleged forceful eviction of hawkers and the "bulldozer culture" allegedly unleashed by the newly-formed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state.
According to the party, protests will be held at Howrah Station, Sealdah Station and near Ballygunge, with party leaders and workers expected to participate in demonstrations against the alleged targeting of hawkers and minority communities.
The protests come amid escalating political tensions in West Bengal following the recent Assembly election results, in which the BJP secured 207 seats and ended the Trinamool Congress's 15-year rule in the state. The TMC won 80 seats in the elections.
