BJP does not support division of West Bengal, says Suvendu Adhikari

Political observers and a section of BJP leaders feel that any support to division of the State will hamper the party’s electoral prospects in south Bengal, the region that elects more MPs and MLAs  

SHIV SAHAY SINGH, The Hindu,  July 29, 2024 : Amidst calls by BJP leaders in West Bengal and outside for division of the State, the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, said on Monday that the party does not want any bifurcation.

“The BJP has a clear stand. We do not support any division of West Bengal, separate or creation of Union Territories out of the State,’ the BJP MLA from Nandigram told journalists outside the premises of Assembly.

Last week, the BJP MP from Jharkhand, Nishikant Dubey, had sought the creation of a Union Territory comprising Malda and Murshidabad districts of West Bengal, a few districts of Bihar, and the Santhal Parganas region of Jharkhand. 

Mr. Adhikari dubbed the remarks by BJP legislators from Murshidabad in support of Mr. Dubey as their “personal opinion”.</p><p>West Bengal BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Shamik Bhattacharya had earlier said the State BJP would not support any bifurcation.

Not only Mr. Dubey, but State BJP president and Union Minister of State Sukanta Majumdar has also triggered controversy with his remarks that parts of north Bengal be included in the north-east region. Though Mr. Majumdar clarified that he did not want any division of the State, his remarks added fuel to the demand for statehood for Gorkhaland and Greater Cooch Behar.

Mr. Adhikari, however, added that “infiltrators” should be identified, and  Rohingya infiltrators would have to be pushed out of the State. The BJP leader said that at 72 places along the India-Bangladesh border, the West Bengal government had refused to give land to the Border Security Force (BSF) to erect fences.

Attempts should be made to address developmental concerns of north Bengal by setting up AIIMS and IIT- like institutions,” he said. Mr. Adhikari added that while a secretariat had been set up in north Bengal none of the secretaries were available to provide services to the people.

Political observers and a section of BJP leaders feel that any support to division of the State will hamper the party’s electoral prospects in south Bengal, the region that elects more MPs and MLAs. For instance, of the 42 MPs from the State, only eight are from north Bengal and 34 are from south Bengal.

Agencies: With the BJP being accused by the TMC of trying to “partition” West Bengal amid a series of statements made by its leaders, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Monday said his party doesn’t support the “division” of the state. 

“Division of Bengal is not our party’s stand,” Adhikari told mediapersons outside the Assembly after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lashed out at the BJP over the remarks made by BJP MPs in which they proposed to make North Bengal a part of North East states. 

Without elaborating on BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar’s proposal to bring north Bengal districts under North East states, Adhikari said: “It is true that North Bengal is tremendously deprived. This (TMC) government has to ensure the development of North Bengal. They should set up AIIMS, an IIT-like institution in North Bengal. The BJP supports the demand of the people of North Bengal who don’t want to come to Kolkata for their work. Their work related to the administration should be done in North Bengal itself,” Adhikari said. 

Our stand is very clear. Stop the exodus of Hindus. The (state) government has to identify illegal immigrants. Rohingya immigrants should be pushed back. The state government should provide land to BSF to fence the border with Bangladesh, Adhikari added. Earlier in the day, speaking in the Assembly, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recalled the statements made by Sukanta Majumdar, who is also the state BJP chief, and other BJP MPs and dared them to do so. 

The four (Union) ministers spoke about the division of North Bengal. I condemn it. Come to divide Bengal, I will show you how to stop it,\u201d an angry chief minister said. 

The issue of partition is brought up only after the election is over. One person says, break Murshidabad-Malda. Someone is saying, do something new with the three districts of Assam. Someone is again asking to merge North Bengal with North East states, the CM said. On July 24, Majumdar had appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to incorporate North Bengal into the Northeast. 

In a video statement issued from Delhi, Majumdar, who is also the Union Minister of State (MoS) for Education, said, I met with the PM and handed over a presentation, highlighting the similarities between north Bengal and the Northeast states. I requested him to incorporate north Bengal, a part of West Bengal, into the Northeast (states).

He said that way, more Central funds and development would come to the people of the region. There will be more development. I do not think the state government will have any objections and will cooperate, Majumdar had said, triggering a backlash from the TMC. Majumdar's proposal was backed by BJP MP from Darjeeling, Raju Bista, who said that it was logical since culturally rich north Bengal has vast resources, but gets only 0.002% of West Bengal's annual budget. 

BJP MP Nagendra Ray, popularly known as Anant Maharaj, also demanded a separate state of Cooch Behar to be carved out of North Bengal. 

The injustice that has been done to the people of Cooch Behar since Independence must be rectified,\u201d said Ray, who is also a leader of the Greater Cooch Behar People\u2019s Association that is demanding a separate state for the Rajbanshi community by including parts of North Bengal and Assam. Meanwhile, BJP's Murshidabad MLA Gouri Shankar Ghosh supported party MP Nishikant Dubey's demand for a Union Territory, including parts of Bengal, Bihar, and Jharkhand. Highlighting alleged infiltration from Bangladesh, Dubey demanded in Parliament a separate Union Territory. 

Ghosh supported Dubey saying, Infiltration is high in Murshidabad, which is a threat to national security, adding that the district should be part of a Union Territory. Ghosh also said that a similar appeal was made by him in a letter to the Union Home Ministry in 2022.