Will bring up Bengal’s bifurcation demand during lawmakers’ meet with Nadda: Kurseong MLA

PTI, 9 June, 2022, Kolkata:  Kurseong’s BJP MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma on Thursday again stoked the demand for bifurcation of West Bengal and said he will bring up the matter during party president J P Nadda’s meeting with lawmakers during the day.

The Gorkha legislator from Darjeeling had last year demanded the separation of the hilly region from the state.

“The people of North Bengal have been deprived of development for long. I will bring up the demand for bifurcation of West Bengal during today’s meeting with our party president,” Sharma said.

Nadda, on the concluding day of his visit to West Bengal, is scheduled to hold a meeting with BJP MPs and MLA in the afternoon.

Referring to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s recent statement that she is ready to give her blood but won’t allow division of the state, Sharma said there won’t be any bloodshed as the state will be divided democratically.

“I request honourable Didi to save her blood for patients who are in dire need of it. But I can assure her that there will be no bloodshed as we will ensure division of Bengal democratically,” he said.

Last year, Sharma had written to Nadda demanding the separation of Darjeeling Hills from West Bengal and asked the party leadership to honour its promise of a permanent political solution to the Gorkhaland statehood demand.

BJP’s Alipurduar MP John Barla, and legislators of Matigara-Naxalbari and Dabgram-Phulbari seats, Anandamay Barman Shikha Chatterjee respectively, have demanded that a Union territory be carved out of North Bengal districts.

Bishnupur MP Saumitra Khan, who had recently renewed the demand for carving out ‘Junglemahal’ state from the southwestern districts of the state, had met Nadda on Wednesday night, but said: “It is my personal demand, not that of the BJP.” The BJP state leadership distanced itself from the individual demands made by some lawmakers, saying the party is not in favour of West Bengal’s division.

“We don’t want a division of the state but we feel there is a need for development of the North Bengal region,” BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya has said.

However, the TMC accused the BJP of trying to fan separatism in the state.

“Our chief minister has clearly said there will be no division of West Bengal. The BJP leaders are fanning separatist movements in the state for their vested interests. But those won’t yield any results,” TMC MP Sougata Roy said.