Mamata Banerjee slams BJP, says will never allow Bengal’s division

Slamming Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its divisive politics in North Bengal, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday that she will not allow BJP to divide Bengal and separate North Bengal from the rest of the state.

At a rally in North Bengal’s Alipurduar, the West Bengal Chief Minister gave a strong message today, "I will give my blood but will not let BJP divide Bengal. Even before the election, the BJP had promised separate Gorkhaland. I will never allow such attempt to divide Bengal.” She claimed that BJP has misled the people on the issue of separating North Bengal.

“I will give my blood but I will not let BJP divide Bengal according to their whims & fancies! You can threaten me, put a gun on my chest and still I will continue fighting for a united Bengal - our Hon'ble Chairperson @MamataOfficial in Alipurduar,” AITC’s twitter handle tweeted in social media.


Banerjee’s message was in the backdrop when several BJP MPs, including John Barla, have demanded for a separate North Bengal, claiming that development has not reached the Northern part of the state, during the eleven year regime of Trinamool Congress government in Bengal.

Sharply reacting to Banerjee’s claim, Shamik Bhattacharya, BJP state spokesperson, said that the saffron party does not support any such policy of separating North Bengal from the south. “Separating North Bengal from the rest of Bengal is not in the ideology of the BJP. Some individual leaders and MPs may have expressed their opinion but we don’t support it.”

Meanwhile, talking about the development of North Bengal, the chief minister said that her state government has worked for the development of people in North Bengal. “The tea garden workers used to get Rs 67 as minimum wage but we have increased it to Rs 200. It will be further increased. We have built 12,000 homes under the Chai Sundari project for the workers.”

In North Bengal, tourism has developed and the state government is focussing on home stay to support the local tourism industry flourish in North Bengal, which has immense potential, Banerjee said. She vowed that tap water would reach every home by 2024.

The Chief Minister will distribute 12,000 land rights in Alipurduar tomorrow. In North Bengal, the refugees will also get land rights soon.