Showing support to newly appointed Union minister John Barla's demand for a separate state or a Union Territory in north Bengal, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh has said that the demand is not “unjustified”.
"If they (the BJP MPs) have raised such demands (Bifurcation of the state), then it is not unjustified," IANS quoted Ghosh as saying.
Ghosh’s remark on the matter has divided the state BJP leadership over the issue as there are some leaders from the party who are criticising this demand.
However, this is not the first time such a demand has come from BJP leaders. Barla has been making this demand for a long time now.
Earlier, two BJP MPs from North Bengal and a BJP MLA from Dabgram-Fulbari had also demanded to make North Bengal a separate state.
So why do the BJP MPs want a separate state in North Bengal?
According to Ghosh’s recent remark, the reason for this demand is for the "development" of the North Bengal region.
"The entire responsibility of this lies with Mamata Banerjee. 75 years after Independence, why do the people of North Bengal have to go to other states for jobs, education and healthcare facilities? In Jangalmahal the situation is the same. Why the women in Jangalmahal will have to depend on sal and tendu leaves for livelihood? Why do they have to go to Odisha, Ranchi and Gujarat for jobs?” Ghosh told IANS .
However, TOI reported that the demand has more to do with identity politics than development. People from north Bengal spread over Darjeeling, Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda, who are "mostly pro-BJP", suggest that it may also have to do with getting rid of the "Kolkata hegemony", the report added.
Also, a point to note here is that when Barla first raised this demand, Dilip Ghosh’s remark was different from what it is now. He had then distanced himself from Barla’s comment and had also mentioned that it was not the party’s demand.
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