WEST BENGAL: The West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Monday approved a resolution opposing attempts to split Bengal by voice vote. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Satyajit Barman introduced the resolution in accordance with Rule 185 of the State Assembly's Rules and Conduct of Business, which sparked frank debate on both the Treasury and Opposition benches.
Speaking in favour of the motion, West Bengal Ministers Firhad Hakim and Sovandeb Chattopadhay said that while efforts to split the State will be fought, the needs of the people of north Bengal in terms of development could be met. Neeraj Zimba and Kurseong Bishnu Prasad Sharma, two MLAs from Darjeeling, emphasised the need for Gorkhaland. Neeraj Zimba, a Darjeeling MLA, claimed that the desire for Gorkhaland had nothing to do with dividing West Bengal's boundaries but rather with demerging region that had joined West Bengal after Independence. The Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) representative, Zimba, emphasised that Darjeeling was a fundamental component of Sikkim and that the demand for demerger falls within the purview of the Constitution.
Bishnu Prasad Sharma, an MLA for Kurseong, spoke out against the proposal, arguing that the Assembly was not the proper place to discuss it because the Constitution gives the Parliament the authority to decide whether to create a separate State.
Sharma asked for a referendum on the idea of a separate State and emphasised that the residents of the constituency had chosen him to bring up the issue of Gorkhaland. What the BJP or Trinamool Congress believe about the matter is unimportant; what matters is how the locals feel. You [the State government] might request that GTA or DGHC (Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council) arrange a tripartite meeting (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration). Why can't there be a vote? He asked.
Hakim emphasised that while the residents of the State were ready to die, they would not allow West Bengal to be divided. The Minister claimed that the BJP has attempted to split West Bengal ever since Subhash Ghising of the GNLF launched the campaign for a separate State of Gorkhaland in the 1980s. The split of the State, according to Mr. Chattopadhyay, is a delicate subject. He acknowledged that there were problems with the area's development, but he pointed out that these difficulties had been resolved since Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took office.
BJP MLAs who took part in the discussion said the resolution's language was "unclear," therefore they were neither for nor against the proposal. Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the opposition in the state assembly, referred to the resolution as a "political stunt" in advance of the panchayat elections after BJP state legislator Dipak Barman remarked about the absence of educational and medical facilities in north Bengal.
BJP MLAs and MLAs from Cooch Behar and Alipurduar have occasionally raised the demand for the creation of a separate State to be carved out of the territories of north Bengal, despite the fact that the politics of the Darjeeling Hills have been centred around the demand for Gorkhaland since the 1980s.
The TMC has never before introduced a resolution against such remarks in the State Assembly. According to the Trinamool MLA's three-line resolution, some divisive elements are "trying every means" to split West Bengal, which is against the state's culture and history. For the sake of preserving peace and serenity in the State, the resolution urged the people of the State to band together to oppose these actions.
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