Will not allow BJP to carve out UT in North Bengal: CM Mamata Banerjee

KOLKATA/JALPAIGURI: Sections within the BJP were trying to split Bengal and carve out a “Union territory” in North Bengal, CM Mamata Banerjee said on Monday, adding that she would not allow “any divide-and-rule policy” to take root in the state.
“In whose interest are they trying to split Bengal? What does UT mean?” Banerjee asked, adding: “It means taking away people’s rights. But I will not allow anyone to divide Bengal.”
The BJP’s state unit responded by saying that it did not approve of any move to divide Bengal and added the “views” that Banerjee was referring to could be of “some individuals”. But the party’s Jalpaiguri leaders said there was “a virtual meeting on this demand” on Sunday and “the issue would be raised in the monsoon session of the Parliament”.
“This is false information. We have never supported any separatist sentiment. West Bengal has faced movements like Gorkhaland but we have been resolute in our stand. The party has never discussed any such issue,” state BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu said. But he “could not comment if any individual” had “any separatist ambition”, he added. State vice-president Raju Banerjee echoed Basu: “ Trinamool Congress is trying to malign our party.”
The BJP’s Jalpaiguri vice-president, Aloke Chakraborty, however, admitted there was a virtual meeting “attended by leaders”.
“There has been this demand here for some time, fuelled primarily by neglect and underdevelopment of this region; this is a reason why North Bengal is home to separatist movements. A statehood movement is not feasible but carving out a union territory is possible. This issue will be raised in the monsoon session of Parliament,” Chakraborty said. He, however, would not confirm or deny whether two BJP MPs were part of the virtual meeting.
“What does a union territory mean? It means taking away people’s rights,” the Bengal CM said on Monday, latching on to reports about the Jalpaiguri meeting. “Union territory means being at the mercy of Delhi and losing all freedom. But I will not allow North Bengal or any other part of Bengal to lose its freedom and become dependent on Delhi,” Banerjee added.
The BJP was trying to divide the nation according to its whims, Banerjee said. “It is behaving like a queen distributing ornaments. They should be ashamed after their humiliating poll loss but, instead, they are trying to divide Bengal, she said, adding: “Where is the difference between North Bengal and South Bengal? It is all one West Bengal.”
It would not be easy dividing Bengal, Banerjee said. “It is not easy to sell off Alipurduar or Jalpaiguri or Cooch Behar or Darjeeling. The BJP wants to divide the country. But I will stop it,” she added. A section of central (BJP) leaders could be involved in the process, indulging local BJP leaders, Banerjee said; without that, no one would have dared initiate such a move, she added.
“Much work has been done in North Bengal, probably even more than that in South Bengal. There is a new Panchanan Barma University in Cooch Behar as well as a new secretariat (Uttar Kanya),” Banerjee said.