The BJP on Friday sharpened its attack on the Trinamul Congress over Abhishek Banerjee’s statement — which was seconded by chief minister Mamata Banerjee — that “there is no north or south Bengal here but one and only West Bengal”.

Several BJP leaders said Trinamul national general secretary Abhishek’s remarks were part of an attempt to “conceal” the alleged backwardness of north Bengal.

Some of them said the aunt-nephew duo’s comments were contrary to the state government’s policies as the chief minister had created the north Bengal development department after coming to power in 2011.

“She (Mamata) has set up Uttarkanya, where hardly any senior official sits, and claimed she had created a secretariat for north Bengal. If there is no north and south

Bengal, why was the north Bengal development department created? Why did they spend taxpayers’ money on building the infrastructure?” Jalpaiguri BJP MP Jayanta Roy asked.

On Tuesday, Abhishek had said: “I do not prefer the term ‘north Bengal’…. There is no north or south Bengal here but one and only West Bengal. From today, this term (north Bengal) will be obliterated from our party’s dictionary.”

Siliguri BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh said the party believed that the chief minister and Trinamul leaders did not have an ‘uttor (answer)’ for the residents of north Bengal because the state government had failed to ensure the region’s development.

“So, they want the people here to forget the term ‘uttarbanga.’ There is a sharp contrast between their remarks and the functioning of the government as even today, there are several institutions and posts where the term ‘north Bengal’ is prefixed or suffixed,” said Ghosh.

Trinamul on Thursday said Abhishek had aptly flagged the issue as each north Bengal district should have its own identity.

“For decades, the region on the left bank of the Ganga has been known as north Bengal, unlike the districts which are in the south of our state. Our national general secretary wants each district in north Bengal to have due recognition and identity. The chief minister’s statement has substantiated it and proved that our party and the government believe in and work for a balanced development throughout Bengal,” said Vedabrata Dutta, the spokesperson for Darjeeling (plains) district Trinamul.

(Additional reporting by our Jalpaiguri correspondent)