West Bengal govt. mishandling Darjeeling, says Jaswant

SMRITI KAK RAMACHANDRAN, TH, NEW DELHI, January 12, 2014: “I won’t be able to do justice to my constituency, in the altered political circumstances in the State”

Unhappy with the West Bengal government’s treatment of his parliamentary constituency, Darjeeling, senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh has cautioned that owing to its strategic location, unrest in the hilly district does not augur well for the country.

“It is a highly sensitive area in terms of national security. It adjoins four countries, plus it sits on the Chicken’s Neck [the Siliguri Corridor]. Dissatisfaction, discontent and disorder in Darjeeling are not good for the country. Darjeeling dominates the only route to Sikkim. These facts alone require a clear understanding of the situation and what the national responsibility consequently ought to be,” he told The Hindu.

‘Answer lies in UT status’ Pitching for Union Territory status for the hilly district, Mr. Singh said: “They [people in Darjeeling] have a great deal to say, they have not been treated fairly. There is a curious idiom of politics in West Bengal. I do think the answer to Darjeeling’s problem is in acceptance of it as a Union Territory. Darjeeling is in no manner Bengali in language, customs or its people.”

Mr. Singh, who has expressed a wish to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls from his home State, Rajasthan, wants the Centre and the West Bengal government to address the concerns of Darjeeling.

He has already communicated his desire to the party high command but remained tight-lipped on the choice of constituency. Sources in the BJP said workers from at least three constituencies in Rajasthan had approached the former Union Minister to represent them. Among these are his hometown Barmer-Jaisalmer, which was earlier represented by his son; Jodhpur, which he himself represented earlier, and Chittorgarh.

Confirming reports, Mr. Singh told The Hindu that he wanted to return “to his home State.”

“I feel I have served my constituency as best as I could. [But] I feel, I will not be able to do justice to the people [of Darjeeling], especially in the altered political circumstances of West Bengal.”

‘Not escaping responsibility’

He said that by opting to contest from Rajasthan he was not escaping responsibility to Darjeeling. “I have helped them take the first step towards Gorkhaland and the territorial administration, which is a hundred per cent autonomous. It is an almost full-fledged State. I have told the elected GTA to demonstrate theirs as a success story. I cannot be charged with neglect of Darjeeling, but I have a responsibility towards the land of my birth.”