BJP will resolve Gorkha issue constitutionally without dividing Bengal, says Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the BJP will resolve the Gorkha issue constitutionally without dividing West Bengal. He also promised development in north Bengal and targeted the TMC on issues like infiltration, political violence, and farmers’ distress

Gangarampur/Manikchak (WB): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the BJP, if voted to power in West Bengal, will resolve the Gorkha issue in the Darjeeling hills in a constitutional manner without dividing the state.

Addressing a poll rally in Gangarampur in Dakshin Dinajpur district, Shah referred to the BJP’s election manifesto to offer a host of north Bengal-centric development projects.

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“I want to tell my Gorkha brothers of Darjeeling that, once in power, the BJP will not only develop an eco-adventure hub in the hills, but also resolve the Gorkha issue in a constitutional manner without dividing the state,” Shah said.

The century-old demand of Nepali-speaking Indians in the Darjeeling hills for a separate state of Gorkhaland has repeatedly taken violent turns.

Despite the formation of the semi-autonomous Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) in 2011 to administer the upper reaches of Darjeeling and parts of the foothills, violent agitations took place till as late as 2017.

The region has witnessed multiple twists and turns over political partnerships between local Gorkha parties, like the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), and bigger players like the BJP and TMC, where the demand for a separate Gorkhaland has always acquired political centre stage.

In the upcoming polls, the TMC is in a strategic seat-sharing alliance with the Anit Thapa-led Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BJPM), a breakaway faction of Bimal Gurung’s GJM, and has left the Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong seats to its partner.
The BJP, on the other hand, has yet again secured the support of Gurung, its former alliance partner in the hills, although the saffron party is directly contesting the polls from the region this time.

Laying thrust on the issue of illegal immigration in West Bengal, the Union home minister said that the BJP will end political violence, syndicate and cut-money raj in the state and evict infiltrators with priority.

“Press EVM buttons next to the lotus sign so hard that once they are pressed in regions of north Bengal, infiltrators across India can feel the electric shock,” he said.

Urging people to vote without fear of political backlash, he said the Election Commission has deployed enough central forces “to rein in Mamata Banerjee’s goons”. “Neither TMC goons nor the infiltrators the party has provided shelter to will be able to threaten West Bengal’s voters this time,” he said.

Shah has been paying regular visits to the state over the last few weeks and has held multiple rallies across the state in the run-up to the April 23 polls, when voters in north Bengal districts would exercise their franchise, sharpening the infiltration issue as one of the most prominent poll planks of the saffron party.

West Bengal will vote in two phases, on April 23 and 29, and votes will be counted on May 4.

Shah alleged that Aam Janata Unnayan Party founder Humayun Kabir was an “agent” of Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and claimed he was constructing a mosque styled on the Babri Masjid with her consent.
“Humayun Kabir should listen carefully when I say the BJP won’t allow the mosque to be built. Mamata Banerjee and her nephew should also know that their dreams of building that mosque will be shattered on May 5, a day after the votes are counted,” he said at another rally in Manikchak in Malda district.

Kabir, an MLA from Murshidabad’s Bharatpur, who has now formed his own party and is seeking re-election, was suspended from the TMC in December last year after he proposed the construction of a Babri-like mosque in the Beldanga area of the district.

Shah also promised that the supply of potatoes from West Bengal to other states will be opened up to ensure that farmers get remunerative prices for their produce.

A severe financial crisis has hit potato farmers in West Bengal due to a record bumper harvest, causing market prices to fall to around Rs 250 to Rs 300 per 50 kg bag, well below the production cost of Rs 400. This distress has resulted in heavy losses, debt, and reported farmer suicides in districts like Hooghly and Paschim Medinipur.

The West Bengal government’s restrictions on transporting potatoes to other states, leading to a local supply glut and decreasing demand in traditional markets like Assam and Bihar, came under criticism from opposition parties, especially the BJP.

Shah referred to President Droupadi Murmu’s expression of disappointment with the state administration for protocol violations and last-minute venue changes during her visit in March, to state that the TMC leadership has “insulted” the nation’s constitutional head consistently.

“I say this on the occasion of B R Ambedkar’s birth anniversary: the people of West Bengal will never forgive the disrespect Mamata Banerjee has shown towards our Adivasi President,” Shah said, drawing apparent parallels between the pioneering leader’s Dalit roots and the President’s representation of the country’s tribal communities.

As part of the BJP’s proposed development package for north Bengal districts, Shah also referred to the party’s manifesto, promising that an AIIMS, a state-of-the-art 600-bed cancer hospital, separate IIT and IIM campuses, and a dedicated sports university would be constructed in the region.

He said, honouring a long-term demand of the people, the Rajbanshi language would be included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

“Mamata Banerjee has done great injustice to the people of north Bengal. Malda mangoes are loved by people all the way up to Gujarat, but there is no cold storage facility for mango growers. The BJP will build cold storages in every mango-growing pocket,” he said in Malda’s Gazole.

Earlier in the day, the Union home minister held a colourful roadshow at Kaliagunj in Uttar Dinajpur, with a large crowd lining his route.