GTA CEO Anit Thapa resigns after CM Suvendu's corruption probe warning

Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) Chief Executive Anit Thapa tendered his resignation from the top post on Wednesday. Thapa's sudden departure comes less than 24 hours after West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari publicly called for a thorough investigation into institutional corruption within the autonomous hill body. Thapa, who also heads the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), had assumed executive office in 2022 and abruptly cut his tenure short with nearly a year still remaining in his official term.

The political fallout was triggered by a stern warning delivered by Chief Minister Adhikari during an administrative program in Kurseong on Tuesday. Adhikari renewed his fierce campaign against regional graft, promising that individuals found guilty of financial irregularities would face immediate imprisonment. The Chief Minister emphasized that his administration remains fiercely determined to ensure that public money stolen from hill development funds is accounted for, vowing that no corrupt official or politician, regardless of their stature, would be spared from legal retribution.

The ongoing controversy surrounding financial mismanagement within the GTA is deeply rooted. During his inaugural tour of North Bengal in May, Adhikari had explicitly promised a comprehensive audit of the hill administration's accounts. While Thapa had initially countered by welcoming any probe, he strategically demanded that the investigation expand back to 2012—a period when the rival Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), currently a political ally of the BJP, held the reins of the council. However, the direct and targeted pressure from the new state government ultimately forced Thapa to step down rather than weather the looming investigation.