BJP not in favour of Gorkhaland: Vijayvargiya

Mohua Chatterjee | TNN | Jun 28, 2017, NEW DELHI/KOLKATA: Bengal BJP's stand against Gorkhaland has finally found support with the central leadership in Delhi. BJP general secretary in charge of West Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya has made it loud and clear that the party is not in favour of a separate Gorkhaland state at a time when Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters in the Hills are banking heavily on the Centre to carve out a separate state.

"We (BJP) are not in favour of a separate Gorkhaland state. But we want to protect the identity and culture of the Gorkha people and to address their development concerns. We have always been sympathetic to concerns of the Gorkhas when it comes to protecting their identity. The party has never backed a separate Gorkhaland," Vijayvargiya said on Tuesday , while BJP president Amit Shah was having a meeting with state BJP president Dilip Ghosh and Rahul Sinha to work out a nuanced party line on the burning issue.

According to BJP in siders, the recent developments in Nepal and Sikkim may have prompted the BJP leaders at the Centre to fine tune its stand on the creation of smaller states particularly in regard to Darjeeling that has a strategic location sharing borders with foreign lands. BJP sources also said that a separate Gorkhaland is not feasible because of security concerns. This, according to sources, is the view of the Union home ministry , which has already looked into the issue. Party sources also said the Centre does not rule out some involvement of China in the Darjeeling unrest.

At the same time, BJP leaders can't deny the fact that its nominees -Jaswant Singh and S S Ahluwalliah -couldn't have made it to Parliament without the support of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. In fact, GJM president Bimal Gurung took an active role in campaign during the Assam assembly polls claiming himself as a member of the NDA family . This apart, GJM also extended its support to BJP in the foothills of West Bengal helping the party to emerge as a major force in at least five assembly constituencies in the Dooars. The BJP general secretary thus tried to placate GJM by putting the blame on the Mamata Banerjee government for the present unrest in the Hills. 

Vijayvargiya held that the West Bengal government has failed to empower the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) according to the agreement, and has also failed to protect their identity leading to the unrest.

BJP leaders are likely to spell out their stand to the GJM delegation when it goes to Delhi seeking their intervention. GJM president Bimal Gurung will be staying back in the meantime to lead the Gorkhaland stir. "Our party has lined up a series of programmes during the monsoon session of Parliament to draw the Centre's attention to the Gorkhaland cause," said GJM assistant secretary Binay Tamang on Tuesday .

( Source & Courtesy: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/not-in-favour-of-gorkhaland-vijayvargiya/articleshow/59346425.cms )