Tag: John Barla

  • Barla voiced North Bengal people’s concerns, should not be tagged separatist: Dilip Ghosh

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Squarely blaming the Mamata Banerjee government for “lack of development” in north Bengal, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh on Saturday claimed that local MP John Barla, who drew flak for seeking a separate union territory for the region, was only voicing the grievances of people.

    Maintaining that the BJP does not support division of Bengal, Ghosh, however, said that Barla, as people’s representative in Alipurduar, was simply putting forth their demand for the state’s bifurcation.

    “He cannot be labelled as a separatist for voicing the concerns of people,” the state BJP chief said during his visit to Jalpaiguri.

    Barla, who was recently appointed as a union minister by the Narendra Modi government, had in June courted controversy as he sought a separate union territory comprising all north Bengal districts.

    Ghosh had then asserted that the views of Barla were his own and the BJP was not in favour of it.

    Defending the Alipurduar MP during the day, he said, “If the demand for a separate north Bengal or Junglemahal gathers steam, it is Mamata Banerjee who must bear the responsibility.”

    Alleging that the TMC government did not do anything to bring about development in north Bengal or Junglemahal, he said, “Why do people from these areas have to move outside for proper education, job? Why is there no decent medical facility or educational institution?”

    Days after Barla had raised the demand for a separate territory for north Bengal, another BJP MP, Saumitra Khan, had sought statehood for Junglemahal — comprising hilly forested areas of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts.

    Ghosh stated that “people of the area have voted for Barla. He has to listen what they say, be mindful of their demand”.

    The senior BJP leader further said that the Mamata Banerjee government had kept the “longstanding demand for ‘Gorkhaland’ in Darjeeling alive and the GTA agreement that favoured the separatists had to be signed accordingly”.

    “When the GTA was signed why didn’t you (critics of north Bengal UT demand) protest? Why no one batted an eyelid then? Only when the BJP is around, you make us, the party’s leaders, a punching bag. You call our MP a separatist,” he added.

    A tripartite agreement was signed in 2011 by the Centre, the West Bengal government and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, paving the way for setting up of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), an elected body for the Darjeeling hills.

    Strongly reacting to Ghosh’s statements, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh sought to know why the demand for a separate union territory was not raised during the assembly polls, “if that is what the people of north Bengal apparently wants”.

    “Why Dilipbabu or the other leaders of the party, including heavyweights from Delhi, did not speak on the same lines during their campaign for state assembly polls? Why this hypocrisy? “Had the BJP aired such views back then, voters of West Bengal would have been aware about its stance,” the TMC spokesman added.

  • Separate ‘North Bengal’ state voice of people: Union Minister John Barla

    By PTI

    SILIGURI/KOLKATA: Union Minister John Barla said on Tuesday that the creation of a separate state of ‘North Bengal’ is the voice of the people of the region.

    Addressing a press conference in Siliguri as part of the BJP’s ‘Shahid Samman Yatra’, Barla said he would discuss the issue at the appropriate level to bring to fruition for creating a separate state.

    “Creation of a separate state of North Bengal is the voice of the people of the region. I will raise the issue at the appropriate level,” the minister said.

    Barla, a BJP MP from Alipurduar who is at present the Minister of State for Minority Affairs, said the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal did nothing for the minority population of the state and used them for getting votes.

    “What work has the TMC government done for the minorities? You have taken their votes for your political advantage,” he claimed.

    In the name of development, TMC is resorting to terror tactics and torture, Barla alleged.

    “See how post-poll violence erupted in West Bengal,” he added.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to work along with the state government but the TMC government was always fighting with the Centre, he alleged.

    Referring to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s efforts to unite the opposition, Barla said, “Didi is dreaming to become the prime minister. It will never happen.”

    In 2024, BJP will wrest all the 42 Lok Sabha seats from West Bengal and by good margins, he claimed.

    Raju Bista, the BJP’s Darjeeling MP, alleged that more than 150 party workers were killed in “post-poll violence” across West Bengal and the ‘Shahid Samman Yatra’ was undertaken to remember them.

    “West Bengal is racing towards President’s Rule and we urge the President, the prime minister and the home minister to save us from Mamata Banerjee’s rule of oppression,” he said.

    Meanwhile, several BJP workers, including party MLA Sankar Ghosh, were detained by the Siliguri Metropolitan Police for gathering without permission amid the COVID-restrictions, officials said.

    Bista said they gathered for taking part in the “Yuva Sankalp Yatra” to mark the 75th year of Independence.

    Union minister Subhas Sarkar, who was scheduled to lead one part of the ‘Shahid Samman Yatra’ from the BJP’s state headquarters in Kolkata to Burdwan city, claimed he was stopped by police from travelling with party supporters.

    The Minister of State for Education continued his journey in his car and visited Belur Math on the way.

    “We were not violating COVID protocols. As the police did not allow BJP supporters to accompany me, I can only say that they are scared of democratic protests. We will continue to raise voice against atrocities by Trinamool,” he said.

    Earlier, the police detained BJP workers at Birati in North 24 Parganas where they gathered to take part in another leg of the ‘Shahid Samman Yatra’, officials said.

    Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shantanu Thakur alleged that he was also detained by the police at Birati even though he was in the area to offer puja at a temple.

    Police claimed that the BJP leader himself boarded a police van.

    Speaking to reporters, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said one leg of the Yatra was scheduled in north Bengal, another at Birati and the third from the state party headquarters in Kolkata.

    “The Shahid Samman Yatra was aimed at letting the world know what was happening in West Bengal,” Ghosh said.

  • Union Cabinet reshuffle: Strategy evident in selection of four ministers from West Bengal

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA:  The Centre’s decision of axing two Ministers for State from West Bengal and drafting fresh four Bengal BJP MPs in the Union Cabinet appears to be well-designed, with an eye on balancing the caste and regional equations in the state.

    BJP did not do well in the recent Assembly polls. But around half of the 77 seats they won came from north Bengal and SC-dominated regions. The four new ministers represent various communities and ethnic groups. Two of them are from north Bengal. Cooch Behar MP Nisith Pramanik (Home Affairs and Sports) represents Rajbongshis, the largest faction of the state’s SC community. Alipurduar MP John Barla (Minority Affairs) is the tribal face of the tea garden region.

    Bongaon MP Shantanu Thakur (Port, Shipping, Waterways) belongs to the Matua community, which is a Hindu religious sect of SC refugees from Bangladesh. Bankura MP Subhas Sarkar (Education) was the other one chosen. He is known to have done well for BJP in the Jungle Mahal belt.

    ‘‘Rajbongshis form around 40% of the electorates in north Bengal and the community has a stake of nearly 20% in the Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar regions. Selection of two MPs from this region clearly indicates that the party doesn’t want to lose its Rajbongshi and tribal vote share achieved since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections,’’ said a BJP leader in Kolkata.

    North Bengal has proven to be the saffron camp’s stronghold in the last two elections. The region has 54 Assembly seats, of which BJP won 30. In the remaining 240, BJP secured victory only in 37.

    Barla recently raised a demand that north Bengal should become a separate Union Territory. Although the party did not officially endorse his view, naming him in the Cabinet suggests he remains an important figure in the scheme of things. “Separate statehood has been a long-standing demand of Gorkhas in the hills and Rajbongshis in the foothills. The inclusion of Barla in the Cabinet sends a message that the Centre is not ignoring local sentiments,” said the leader.

    Thakur had on several occasions expressed discontent over the issue of non-implementation of CAA, a promise BJP had made before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls to grant Matua refugees citizenship. “BJP performed well in Matua strongholds. Since implementation of CAA seems impossible now, Thakur was rewarded to ease out the discontent of Matuas, who will be needed in 2024 LS polls,’’ said another leader.

  • Union ministers taking charge after Cabinet reshuffle vow to fulfil PM Modi’s vision for country

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Several ministers, who took charge after a major Cabinet reshuffle, on Thursday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership and vowed to realise his vision for the country.

    Newly appointed Union ministers and those elevated in the Cabinet reshuffle, including Ashwini Vaishnaw, Anurag Thakur and Mansukh Mandaviya, took charge of their respective ministries on Thursday.

    Bureaucrat-entrepreneur-turned-politician Vaishnaw, took charge as the country’s new railway minister, while Thakur who was elevated as Information and Broadcasting Minister also assumed office. Vaishnaw also holds two other important portfolios of Communications and Electronics, and Information Technology.

    “I thank the honourable prime minister for the great opportunity he has given me to serve the nation. Telecommunications, IT and Railways. There are lots of synergies in the three and I will be working to ensure that his vision is implemented,” Vaishnaw told reporters.

    “Excellent work has been done in the railways over the past 67 years. I am here to take the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi forward,” he said while taking charge.

    Interacting with reporters after assuming charge as the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Thakur said that Prime Minister Modi has given him a huge responsibility and he will make best efforts to fulfil it.

    He said reaching out to the masses through the Information and Broadcasting Ministry will be his main area of focus. “Modi ji has done fantastic work in the last seven years. My endeavour will be to meet his expectations, reach out to maximum people and take the legacy of my predecessors forward,” Thakur said.

    Late last night, Jyotiraditya Scindia, who was sworn in as a Cabinet minister, thanked Prime Minister Modi, BJP chief JP Nadda and the party leadership for entrusting him with the responsibility to serve as Civil Aviation Minister. “Looking forward to working under the guidance and vision of the PM to build a strong aviation sector for Aatmanirbhar Bharat!” Scindia tweeted.

    आपकी आत्मीय शुभकामनाओं के लिए ह्रदय से धन्यवाद।देश के यशस्वी प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी के कुशल नेतृत्व में, मैं आप सभी की अपेक्षाओं पर खरा उतरने का पूरा प्रयास करूंगा। https://t.co/4Wwa6um6xJ
    — Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) July 8, 2021

    Bhupender Yadav, who assumed charge of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and as the Labour Minister, said, “I am grateful to the prime minister. I have already taken charge as labour minister. Now I take charge as environment minister. I will put my best foot forward to fulfil the responsibility given to me by the PM and the confidence he has shown in me.”

    Mansukh Mandaviya, who took charge as the country’s new health and family welfare minister, said he is committed to realizing Prime Minister Modi’s dream of a healthy India. John Barla, who took charge as the Minister of State for Minority Affairs, thanked Prime Minister Modi for entrusting him with this assignment and said he would make all efforts to fulfil his responsibilities.

    Subhas Sarkar, who took charge as the new Minister of State for Education, expressed his commitment to devote himself to fulfil the vision of the prime minister.

    Bureaucrat-turned politician Raj Kumar Singh, who assumed charge as the Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, expressed gratitude to Modi for giving him the responsibility, and said the prime minister has shown great confidence and “we will live up to that”.

    In his brief interaction with the media after assuming charge, Singh said, “We have achieved targets of electrification set by the prime minister well before the schedule and will strive to ensure that the benefits of power and energy sector reach the common man.

    In a major Union Cabinet makeover, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday dropped 12 ministers including Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar and brought Sarbananda Sonowal, Narayan Rane and Scindia and 33 other new members to his government.

    Apart from 15 Cabinet ministers, 28 Ministers of State, comprising new faces and those elevated, were sworn in at a ceremony which was held in the Darbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

  • John Barla’s elevation as Union minister proves BJP backs bifurcation of Bengal: Trinamool Congress

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress on Thursday alleged that the elevation of Alipurduar MP John Barla as Union minister proves that the BJP supports the bifurcation of West Bengal, a charge denied by the saffron party.

    Barla, one of the key architects of the BJP’s making of inroads in north Bengal, had recently demanded a separate Union territory by carving out the region from the state. He was inducted into the cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs.

    “The decision to elevate John Barla as Union minister proves that the BJP supports his statement regarding the division of West Bengal. The saffron should come out clean on it. He (Barla) is a divisive personality…for last two years, I haven’t seen him being able to speak properly in the Parliament, what sort of minister he will make is anybody’s guess,” TMC leader Sougata Roy said.

    State BJP chief Dilip Ghosh dubbed the TMC’s allegations as baseless and said the party doesn’t support the bifurcation of the state. “We don’t support any division of West Bengal. The party leadership and our prime minister felt that John Barla would make a good minister and can work for the people, so he has been inducted (into the cabinet),” he said.

    While speaking to a Bengali news channel in the morning after taking charge, Barla declined to comment on his previous statement seeking bifurcation of the state. “I don’t want to comment on it. Now, I would like to work for the benefit of the masses. I will work towards the fulfilment of the demands of the people of north Bengal, nobody can suppress the demands of the masses,” he said.

    Barla alleged that the people of West Bengal are not getting benefits of central schemes and as Union minister, he would strive to ensure that people get these benefits. “We want peace to return to West Bengal. The central schemes should be implemented,” he said.

    Apart from Barla, three other MPs from West Bengal — one from north Bengal (Nisith Pramanik) and two from south Bengal (Subhas Sarkar and Shantanu Thakur) — have been inducted into the Union cabinet. Pramanik has been made MoS Home, and Sarkar and Thakur have been made MoS Education, and MoS Ports and Shipping respectively.

  • Alipurduar MP John Barla takes charge as MoS Minority Affairs

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: John Barla, the BJP’s Lok Sabha MP from West Bengal’s Alipurduar, took charge as the Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs on Thursday. He was welcomed by Union Minority Affairs Minister (Cabinet rank), Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, at the Antyodaya Bhawan, CGO Complex, here.

    Prominent tribal leader Barla, who was one of the key persons responsible for the BJP making inroads in the North Bengal region and had recently demanded the creation of a union territory by craving out North Bengal, was inducted into the Union ministry on Wednesday evening as a minister of state.

    The 45-year-old Barla, who began his political career as a tea garden worker in the Terai-Dooars region nearly two decades ago, has come a long way from being a tribal leader to the corridors of power in New Delhi.

    Earlier, Kiren Rijiju was the minister of state for minority affairs. Rijiju was elevated to the cabinet minister rank and given the charge of the Ministry of Law and Justice on Wednesday.

  • John Barla again rakes up demand for separate North Bengal, despite BJP warning

    By PTI
    JALPAIGURI/KOLKATA: BJP MP John Barla Wednesday again raked up a controversial demand seeking a separate union territory comprising North Bengal districts, despite his party cautioning against such statements.

    The Alipurduar MP alleged that people who voted for the BJP were being denied ration and 100-days work under the job guarantee scheme.

    “In order to escape from such atrocities, I raised the demand for North Bengal to be declared union territory,” he said.

    “I will take this matter up with Delhi (leadership),” he told reporters at his Lakshmipara tea garden residence in Jalpaiguri, surrounded by people who claimed they were sheltering there from attacks by Trinamool Congress supporters.

    In a jolt to the BJP, the party’s Alipurduar district president, Ganga Prasad Sharma along with seven other local BJP leaders, joined the TMC on Monday.

    Barla however claimed that nine members of Kumargram panchayat and a zilla parishad member from Alipurduar district have taken shelter at his residence along with their family members after being pressured to leave the BJP and join TMC.

    Denying the allegation, the TMC district leadership said having won the recent assembly elections with a huge majority, it does not require people from BJP to join the ruling party.

    Reacting to Barla’s repeated outbursts demanding that North Bengal be declared a separate union territory, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said “everyone has to go by the party line,” while at the same time stating there is space for personal opinions in the party.

    “Democracy cannot flourish by gagging people,” he said.

    Accusing the BJP of adopting a duplicitous policy, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh alleged the saffron party is trying to create unrest in the state.

    “It is not clear whether the BJP wants these leaders to stop making such statements or continue with their diatribe on dividing West Bengal,” he said.

    Days after Barla first made known his demand for a separate North Bengal union territory, BJP’s Bishnupur MP Saumitra Khan stoked a fresh controversy by demanding a separate state by carving out districts of Junglemahal and other areas in South Bengal.

    This happened despite the BJP West Bengal unit on Tuesday cautioning party members against violating the party line “Some of our leaders may have made those comments in their own capacity. It has nothing to do with our party line or opinion, which is against any form of division of Bengal, everybody has to toe the party line as a loyal soldier of the party. Violation of party line won’t be tolerated,” the BJP state president has said.

  • Bengal BJP cracks whip, cautions leaders against commenting on division of state

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Amid rising criticism against the BJP over proposals by two of its MP for creating a union territory and a state by carving out parts of West Bengal, the party’s leadership on Tuesday cautioned leaders against violating the party line, which is against any division of the state.

    The development comes days after BJP MP from Alipurduar John Barla and Bishnupur MP Saumitra Khan stoked a controversy by demanding a Union Territory for north Bengal districts and a separate state comprising the Junglemahal region and other areas of south Bengal respectively.

    “Some of our leaders have made certain comments in their personal capacity. It has nothing to do with our party line or opinion, which is against any form of division of Bengal. Everybody has to toe the party line as a loyal soldier. The violation of party line won’t be tolerated,” BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said.

    Within hours of Ghosh’s statement, Khan said that he has made those comments in his personal capacity.

    “I sought a separate state for the Junglemahal area as it is the demand of the locals. There has been no development in the region. My comments are not the view of the party,” Khan said.

    Barla is yet to react to Ghosh’s statement.

    Ruling Trinamool Congress spokesperson Sougata Ray sought to know why the BJP is not expelling Barla and Khan for violating the party line.

    “If the BJP does not endorse the statements of its MPs, why is it not expelling them? The party is planning to create unrest in the state,” the senior TMC MP said.

  • Demand for dividing Bengal part of larger conspiracy of BJP, says Adhir Chowdhury

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The Congress’ West Bengal unit on Tuesday accused the BJP of conspiring to divide the state claiming that it is a part of a larger gameplan of the RSS, the ideological parent body of the saffron party.

    BJP MP John Barla recently sought a separate union territory comprising north Bengal districts, another Lok Sabha member of the party, Saumitra Khan, raised a similar demand for the Junglemahal region in the southern part of the state.

    The Bengal BJP leadership, however, said it is not in favour of the state’s division.

    “It is known that the RSS is behind every such move by the BJP. (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi is influenced by the RSS and it has a longstanding plot to carve out Muslim- dominated regions in different states,” state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told reporters.

    “They have that plan for Uttar Pradesh, they have that plan for West Bengal,” he said without elaborating.

    Chowdhury, also the leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha, claimed that the BJP would have executed “this heinous plan” after a certain period had it formed the government in West Bengal.

    “But after the defeat in the assembly polls, they are desperate and impatient to fulfil their agenda immediately.

    Bengalis must stand united and protest across the state against this diabolical gameplan of the BJP,” he said.

    Chowdhury claimed that Narendra Modi is scared that he is losing popularity and is desperate to retain power in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

    “That is why they (BJP) are taking resort to such conspiracies. They want to disturb the Trinamool Congress regime as it won with a huge majority in the assembly polls,” he said about BJP.

  • Ethnic groups in north Bengal reject BJP MP’s separate Union Territory proposal

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Several ethnic groups, which has spearheaded agitations for creation of separate states in north Bengal over the past few decades, have now rejected a BJP MP’s controversial demand for an union territory comprising all districts of the region, calling it an “unrealistic” and “vindictive” move.

    John Barla, the saffron party MP from Alipurduar, recently sparked a political debate in the state when he called for bifurcation of Bengal, drawing sharp retort from the TMC and other parties.

    Barla, during an interaction with the party’s north Bengal leaders, also said he would take the matter up in Parliament during the upcoming Monsoon session.

    His views were endorsed by BJP MP from Alipurduar Jayanta Roy and some other leaders.

    The state unit of the BJP, however, distanced itself from the demand and said “it was not the official stand of the party and more of a personal opinion of Barla”.

    Ironically, Barla’s demand did not find resonance among the prominent identity-based groups in the region – the Gorkha Jana Mukti Morcha (GJM), Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association (GCPA) and those backing the Kamtapur movement.

    They said it was an attempt to create unrest ahead of the next Lok Sabha polls in 2024.

    Barla, who had earlier led an agitation for an autonomous tribal area in the region, reasoned that north Bengal has long been neglected and its separation from the TMC-led state could be the only way to usher in development.

    “There have been movements here in the past for a separate Kamtapuri, a greater Cooch Behar and Gorkhaland. That prompted me to raise this demand. And to be honest, north Bengal region has faced neglected for a long time. It should be made into a separate union territory,” the BJP MP, who has stayed firm on his stance, said.

    The tribal leader from Terai-Dooars also said he and other leaders from the region would be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on this issue.

    His remarks have kicked off a political storm in the state, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the ruling TMC vehemently opposing it.

    “We are opposed to any division of Bengal. We will never allow any such thing,” she said.

    The TMC, which had used the sub-nationalism card to trounce the BJP in the March-April assembly polls, was quick to brand the saffron party as an “anti-Bengali” organisation which wants to divide the state to avenge its defeat.

    North Bengal, with its eight districts including picturesque Darjeeling, is both economically important for West Bengal as it houses the money-minting tea, timber and tourism industries.

    The place is strategically important for the country for its Siliguri corridor, commonly known as ‘chicken neck’, as it connects the mainland with the northeastern states.

    The region, which shares border with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, has witnessed several violent statehood movements since the early eighties by various ethnic groups such as Gorkhas, Rajbanshis, Koch and Kamatapuri communities.

    GJM general secretary Roshan Giri, rejecting Barla’s stance, said, “What purpose would a union territory or a separate state comprising all north Bengal districts serve? We wanted a separate state of Gorkhaland.

    We have been fighting for it since the 1980s.

    We don’t trust the BJP; they have fooled us since 2009.

    ” The demand for Gorkhaland was first made in the 1980s, with the Subhas Ghisingh-led GNLF launching a violent agitation in 1986, which dragged on for 43 days, resulting in the deaths of hundreds.

    The movement led to the formation of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council in 1988.

    After the TMC took over the reins in Bengal in 2011, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) was formed with GJM supremo Bimal Gurung as its chief.

    But peace was short-lived in the region as Gurung rekindled the agitation in support of Gorkhaland in 2013, and engineered a 104-day-long strike in 2017, accusing the TMC government of trying to “wipe out” Gorkha identity.

    Giri, who belongs to the Gurung faction of the GJM, claimed that the BJP was making “false promises” and his outfit, which joined hands with the TMC just ahead of the assembly polls after years of rivalry, now, has full faith in Banerjee as she has promised a permanent political solution.

    Echoing him, Bangshi Badan Barman of GCPA said a separate UT was not the same as the demand for an independent state for Rajbanshis, who make for the largest chunk of Scheduled Caste population in the state.

    “The Cooch Behar princely kingdom was merged with India after Independence with a promise of a C-category state.

    But that promise was not fulfilled, and part of the Cooch Behar kingdom was divided between Assam and West Bengal.

    So carving out north Bengal as a state or UT won’t be of much help,” he told PTI.

    Barman also questioned the timing of Barla’s proposal and sought to know why the BJP leadership did not raise the matter during the assembly polls.

    The leaders of the Kamatapuri movement in north Bengal, which also led to the formation of militant outfit Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), feels the demand is “unrealistic” and an attempt “to settle scores after assembly polls drubbing”.

    “It is not only diversionary but also unrealistic.

    The needs of people in north Bengal vary from district to district.

    “We will not back this call for a UT status.

    We want a separate state for Kamatpuris.

    The TMC government has carried out various developmental projects in the region since 2011.

    Even then, there is a lot that is left to be done,” said Nikhil Roy, president of the Kamtapur Peoples’ Party (United).

    Once dreaded for its aggression, the Kamatapuri movement, which sought a separate state consisting of parts of north Bengal and a few districts of Assam, is just a pale shadow of its former avatar as several of its top leaders are either behind bars or have returned to the mainstream under the TMC regime.

    Even the GCPA and GJM, too, are in disarray over factional feuds and have lost their past influence.

    Barla’s remarks, although, failed to evoke any response among the separatist leaders, it led to churning in the BJP’s rank and file in the region.

    Several leaders openly spoke against it and have expressed their desire to leave the party.

    The party’s Alipurduar district president, Ganga Prasad Sharma, switched over to the TMC on Monday.

    Slamming the saffron camp, TMC leader and minister of state for north Bengal development Sabina Yeasmin said, “The BJP cannot digest the humiliating defeat it faced in the last assembly polls.

    It is now trying to break Bengal.

    But the people of this state and the TMC will never allow their sinister plans to succeed.

    ” Sensing that the Union territory narrative would harm the party’s support base in the state, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh clarified that no such plan was in the offing.

    “Barla’s comment is not the official stand of the party.

    The BJP has no such plans,” he said.

    Among leaders of other parties, Congress MP Pradip Bhattacharya pointed out that “such a proposition would only divide the masses and never become a reality” as the proposal has to be first passed in the assembly.

    Political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty said both the TMC and the BJP have adopted “double standards” over separate statehood demands in the region.

    “This time, the BJP is at the receiving end, and the UT demand by John Barla will harm the the party both politically and electorally,” he said.

    North Bengal, which sends eights MPs to Lok Sabha, had voted hands down for the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as the party bagged seven seats.

    The TMC, however, was able to recover much of its lost ground in the assembly polls held earlier in the year.

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