Didi Dares BJP to Divide Bengal; Suvendu Backtracks After Call for Assembly Voting
Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday “dared” the BJP to try to divide the state and sought voting on the demand in the Assembly. She threw out the challenge to the saffron party while speaking at a session in the Assembly.
Swinging into damage control mode, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari clarified that the BJP has no such demand. His claim, however, is contrary to the calls by many MPs in his party, from Sukanta Majumdar, state unit president and Union minister, to Ananta Maharaj to Nishikant Dubey.
Ms Banerjee said at the House during a discussion: “The BJP has not given North Bengal anything despite winning so many seats from the region. Whenever an election comes, calls for division and partition crop up also. A conspiracy is going on to divide Bengal.”
In a veiled reference to Mr Majumdar, Mr Maharaj and Mr Dubey, she added: “While some are talking about carving out Cooch Behar, others demand inclusion of North Bengal into the Northeast and creation of a separate state with Malda and Murshidabad. Everyone is sharing their own thoughts.”
Challenging the BJP, the Trinamul Congress supremo pointed out: “Let them come to do it. I will also show them how to resist them. If they have guts, let them come to the Assembly. Let there be voting to know if the people of Bengal at all support those who want it.”
She also said that her party MPs would raise the apathy of the Centre in Parliament. Mr Adhikari later said: “The BJP has a clear stand that we don’t want the division of Bengal. Our sole demand is to identify the infiltrators to stop the persecution of Hindus. The Rohingyas must be driven out.”
Ms Banerjee later stated that she had proposed to the Niti Aayog, during its meeting last week, to set up an India-Bhutan Rivers Commission.