Protesters take out a march for the formation of a separate Gorkhaland state, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. File photo | Photo credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
The West Bengal Assembly on Monday passed a resolution by voice vote against the efforts to divide Bengal. The motion was moved by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Satyajit Barman under Rule 185 of the Procedure and Conduct of Business in the State Assembly and led to heated discussions in the ruling and opposition benches.
West Bengal ministers Firhad Hakim and Sovandeb Chattopadhyay spoke in favor of the resolution and said that the developmental needs of the people of North Bengal could be met, but any attempt to divide the state would be opposed. Darjeeling MLAs Neeraj Zimba and Kurseong Bishnu Prasad Sharma raised their voice for the demand for Gorkhaland.
Darjeeling MLA Neeraj Jimba said that the demand for Gorkhaland has nothing to do with the division of the region of West Bengal, but about the division of the region merged with West Bengal after independence. Mr Zimba, who represents the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), pointed out that Darjeeling was an integral part of Sikkim and the demand for secession was within the ambit of the Constitution.
Speaking against the motion, Kurseong MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma said that it is the Parliament which is empowered by the Constitution on the issue of creation of a separate state and the motion cannot be discussed in the Assembly.
Mr Sharma, who stressed that the people of the constituency had voted him to raise the issue of Gorkhaland, called for a plebiscite on the issue of a separate state. “It is not important – what the BJP or the Trinamool Congress think about the issue – but what the people of the area feel. You [the State government] There could be a tripartite meeting set up by DGHC (Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council) or GTA (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration). Why can’t we have a plebiscite?” He asked.
Mr. Hakim asserted that the people of the state were ready to die but no division of West Bengal would be allowed. The minister said that since the 1980s, when the movement for a separate Gorkhaland state was launched by GNLF’s Subhash Ghisingh, the BJP had made efforts to divide West Bengal. Shri Chattopadhyay said that the bifurcation of the state is a sensitive issue. He admitted that there were issues related to the development of the area but the development needs were met after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee assumed office.
BJP MLAs participating in the debate neither supported nor opposed the resolution, claiming that the language of the resolution was “vague”. BJP MLA Deepak Barman spoke about the lack of educational and health facilities in north Bengal, and Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Shubhendu Adhikari termed the proposal a “political stunt” ahead of the panchayat elections.
While the politics of the Darjeeling Hills has centered around the demand for Gorkhaland since the 1980s, on a few occasions, BJP MLAs and MLAs from Cooch Behar and Alipurduar have raised the demand for a separate state. Provinces of North Bengal. This is the first time that TMC has moved a resolution in the state assembly against such comments. The three-line resolution, moved by a Trinamool legislator, said some divisive forces were making “all out efforts” to divide West Bengal, which was against the state’s culture and tradition. The resolution called upon the people of the state to stand united against these attempts to maintain peace and tranquility in the state.