The issue of separate statehood came to the centrestage at the public meeting of Union home minister Amit Shah in Siliguri on Thursday as a number of elected representatives of the party raised their pitch again, advocating the demand.
At Shah’s meeting, two BJP MLAs from north Bengal spoke on the issue and cited examples where similar decisions were made earlier in the country.
“If Ladakh can have a separate status and Uttarakhand carved out of Uttar Pradesh, why can’t a decision be made with regard to north Bengal? This region of the state has faced apathy of the state governments over decades. We want a change in this situation,” said Anandamoy Barman, the MLA of Matigara-Naxalbari.
Shikha Chatterjee, the BJP legislator of Dabgram-Fulbari constituency of Jalpaiguri district, seconded him.
“The people of north Bengal should govern the region. A separate arrangement has to be made and we should get prepared for it,” Chatterjee said.
Over the past few days, this is the second time that the demand to carve a separate state of north Bengal has been flagged by BJP legislators of this region.
A few days back, Shankar Ghosh, the BJP MLA of Siliguri, was drawn into controversy when he opposed the chief minister’s decision to declare summer vacation in schools across the state. Mamata had made the decision because of the heat wave that the central and southern districts had witnessed last week.
“Due to the heat wave in south Bengal, schools will close down in north Bengal. This is unacceptable. It is for such decisions that demand for a separate north Bengal state is made here,” Ghosh had said.
Earlier, on a number of occasions, rifts have been witnessed among the leaders of the state BJP over the statehood issue.
While some have supported it, many senior leaders have vehemently opposed it and have said they do not want Bengal to divide.
Dilip Ghosh, a national vice-president of the party who was on the dais, however, lent support to the MLAs.
“It is because of deprivation and lack of development that the demand is raised and immediately, Trinamul starts ranting that we want Bengal to be divided. But we cannot undermine the facts pointed out by our MLAs. I stand with them on the issue,” said Ghosh.
Amit Shah, who spoke at length at the meeting, was equally vocal over the issue of development in north Bengal and blamed the ruling party of the state.
His assertion, political observers feel, is yet another attempt to placate the grievance of Gorkhas and Rajbanshis, who have time and again demanded a separate state and are disgruntled with the BJP for not meeting its promises.
“Trinamul is trying to change the demography of north Bengal. We want to make it clear that GTA (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration) elections would not solve the problem of Gorkhas. It is only BJP that can come out with a permanent political solution for them, in consonance with the Indian Constitution,” said Shah.
He elaborated on the work in rail, road and air connectivity which the Centre has taken up in the region.
Mamata on the statehood issue asserted that the BJP leaders should clear the confusion within the party.
“They have differences within themselves (on the issue) and they often quarrel on it. The BJP is simply trying to divide people… like divorces. This is the path that BJP takes to create division among Hindus, Rajbanshis, Gorkhas in north Bengal. We want to unite the hills and the plains,” she said.
