Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Monday accused the BJP of trying to create a narrative of depriving North Bengal to push their political agenda of dividing the state.
Abhishek is in Cooch Behar district in North Bengal to kick start the party's new campaign, 'Trinamool ey Nabajowar' (new wave in Trinamul) from Tuesday, saying all these talks of dividing Bengal is a narrative created by the BJP for mere political benefits.
"I vehemently oppose the usage of 'North Bengal'. Every part of the state is Bengal; from Cooch Behar to Kakdwip, we are all residents of West Bengal. Today also, I reiterate the same thing. Be it Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Siliguri, Darjeeling or Kalimpong; all these places are inseparable regions of Bengal," he told reporters after offering Puja at Madan Mohan Temple in the district.
Reacting to Abhishek's allegations, the state BJP unit dubbed the allegations as "baseless".
The nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, considered the TMC's No 2 leader, accused the BJP of floating these narratives to divide the people.
"All these talks of dividing Bengal are a narrative created by the opposition parties for mere political benefits; we condemn these claims. The Opposition BJP is floating these narratives to divide the people, but we will not let it happen," he said.
His remark comes in the backdrop of several BJP legislators from the North Bengal region demanding that a Union territory be carved out of these districts.
The BJP has made deep inroads in the area during the last assembly and 2019 Lok Sabha polls, and the TMC is trying hard to recover the lost ground.
While speaking about the campaign, which will start on Tuesday, Abhishek said the purpose of this mass outreach programme is also to know the choice of candidates of rural Bengal for the panchayat polls through a unique public referendum.
"For the next two months, we will traverse through Bengal and cover every district, Zilla and gram panchayat. The purpose of this campaign is not just to reach out to the masses but to also enquire and get to know their choice of the candidate through a unique public referendum," he said.
The programme will empower common people to decide on TMC candidates for the Panchayat polls through a secret ballot.
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