Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) president J.P. Nadda on Thursday asked party leaders including MPs and MLAs not raise demands relating to divisions of West Bengal in public domain.
Mr. Nadda said that such issues can be discussed in party forum. A number of BJP leaders including MP and MLAs have been raising demand of creation of separate State particularly from areas of north Bengal or State’s Jangalmahal region.
Hours before Mr. Nadda told the BJP leaders at a closed door meeting not to speak about such emotive issues in public, Kurseong MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma on Thursday said that “his agenda remains creation of a separate State in north Bengal”.
BJP MP from north Bengal like Jayanta Roy and John Barla have called for separate State in north Bengal party MP from Bishnupur in south Bengal Saumitra khan had called for separate State in Jangalmahal region.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that she was ready to shed her blood, but will never allow any territorial division of West Bengal. Ms. Banerjee accused the BJP of helping separatist groups in north Bengal.
Division of West Bengal is an emotive issue and for decades politics in Darjeeling hills have been centered on the demand for creation of separate State of Gorkhaland.
‘COVID responsible for loss’
Meanwhile, addressing a public gathering Mr. Nadda blamed the second wave of COVID-19 for the party’s loss in West Bengal Assembly polls.
“We would have won had the Coronavirus not surfaced again. We could not campaign after April 14 and 15. The campaign we had we were sure to win. But there is nothing to be sorry about, next election will be there,” the BJP president said, expressing hope that the party will come to power in next election The BJP leadership is accused of organising massive rallies in March- April 2021 and many of the rallies were addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the State during the COVID-19 pandemic.
