Big election season also opens up windows for making big election promises. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday, April 13, made such a big pledge and assured the people of protests-prone Darjeeling hills that once BJP takes charge of affairs in West Bengal, the vexed 'Gorkha problem' will be solved.
"Double-engine government will ensure you do not have to resort to agitations anymore," he told the native Gorkhas at an election rally in Darjeeling.
"I promise that a permanent political solution to the Gorkha problem will be reached by the double-engine government of the BJP once we come to power after May 2," said Shah, who is largely seen as BJP's chief poll strategist for the bitter and acrimonious electoral contest against Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress.
Shah pointed out that Indian Constitution is "vast" and has provisions for solving all such problems.
The Gorkhaland movement is a campaign to create a separate state carving out of West Bengal in the stipulated Gorkhaland region for the Nepali speaking Gorkhas. The proposed area includes the hill regions of the Darjeeling district, Kalimpong district and Dooars regions and covers parts and some Gorkha-inhabited pockets of Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts.
The 'division' of West Bengal is an emotive issue with Bengali population for historical reasons and this issue has bogged all governments including the Left Front and later the Trinamool Congress regime.
Moreover, there are enough complexities as the region is also hub of various other ethnic groups and linguistic communities. Estimates say Gorkhas make around 35-40 per cent of the total population in the proposed region (Gorkhaland) with about 90 percent Gorkhas residing in Darjeeling hills and Kalimpong areas.
There are about 25 per cent Rajbongshi communities who share ethnic and to an extent cultural affinity with Bengalis. There are other smaller tribal groups and also about 15 per cent Bengali population mostly Hindus.
Of course, promising a solution to a vexed and age-old issue like the Gorkhaland movement is much easier said than done. In fact, in 1986, Late Subhash Ghisingh had started the movement with elements of strike, Bandh and violence. For sometime, the formation of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) in 1988 with certain autonomous power headed by Ghising helped the region.
But another new party called the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) was raised in 2007 and the demand for a 'separate state' of Gorkhaland was revived.
The complexity of 'power struggles' and 'selfish politics' in the entire issue can be understood from the fact that GJM has split. One faction leader Bimal Gurung, who was an ally of the BJP, is now with Trinamool Congress. Gurung is regarded as a discredited figure especially because he had gone into 'hiding' after some criminal charges were pressed against him by the Mamata regime.
Since 2010, the Gorkhaland issue took a rather murky turn with the assassination of Madan Tamang, a key leader of Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League.
Bengali locals in Siliguri, the major commercial town in Darjeeling district, have turned against Trinamool due to Mamata-Bimal Gurung alliance.
Trinamool had won 16 seats out of total 54 assembly seats in North Bengal five years ago in 2016. But the BJP has gained grounds lately marginalizing the Congress and the Left.
In October 2020, Union Minister of State for Home, G. Kishan Reddy met a delegation of GJM leaders and reviewed the situation. A tripartite meeting convened by Union Home Ministry could not take place as the Mamata government did not send any representatives. BJP leaders including state unit president Dilip Ghosh have said in the past that the saffron party wants a lasting political solution to the problem of the Gorkhas.
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| Rural areas: Darjeeling district |
In his election address, Amit Shah also assured Gorkha community, who share family and cultural affinity with people of Nepal, that the NRC would not be implemented in the state soon.
"There is no plan to implement NRC for now. Even if the exercise is carried out, Gorkhas need not worry about it. You can take my name, I am assuring you all as the country's Home Minister," Shah said also stating that the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has often tried to create the fear about NRC among the Gorkhas.
Noting that Darjeeling and Kalimpong have suffered atrocities for long, Shah has told a poll rally at Kalimpong on Monday that in 1986 during the Gorkkhaland movement, over 1,200 Gorkhas lost their lives, but they did not get justice.
"Didi has got many killed and instituted cases against many. The BJP, after coming to power, will give amnesty to all such people," he said, without naming anyone.
Didi-giri cholbe na, EC slaps 24-hr campaign ban on Mamata
In 1994 the then CEC T N Seshan had asked Prime Minister Narasimha Rao to remove sitting ministers Sitaram Kesari and Kalpanath Rai, as they were allegedly influencing voters through undue promises.
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#Election Commission imposes a ban of 24 hours on Mamata Banerjee from campaigning in any manner from 8 pm of April 12 (Tuesday) till 8 pm of April 13 (Wednesday)
The poll panel in its order said West Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee has in violation of provisions of Model Code of Conduct... "made insinuating and provocative remarks laden with serious potential of breakdown of law and order and thereby adversely affecting the election process".
"Whereas, the Commission has carefully considered the matter and is of the considered view that Ms Mamata Banerjee, who also happens to be the Chief Minister of the state, ......the Commission hereby condemns such statements portent with serious law and order problems across the state".
Mamata Banerjee's Coochbehar speech on April 7 was referred by the poll panel, wherein Mamata had said: "If CAPF create disturbances, I tell you ladies, a group of you go and restrain (gherao) them while another group will go to cast their votes...."
Predictably, Trinamool Congress has condemned and opposed the EC order.
Mamata Banerjee said, to "protest against the undemocratic and unconstitutional decision of the Election Commission of India, I will sit on dharna tomorrow at Gandhi Murti, Kolkata from 12 noon".
On April 4, the Election Commission, had granted relief to BJP leader and Assam Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, after he tendered an unconditional apology to the poll panel and assured to abide by the model code of conduct in the future, on Saturday reduced the period of his ban from campaigning to 24 hours from 48 hours.
In 2019, the Election Commission has condemned Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and BSP supremo Mayawati for their 'communal' remarks. While Yogi Adityanath has been barred from campaigning for the next three days, Mayawati was barred for 48 hours.
In 1999, Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala was asked to leave Bhiwani constituency during parliamentary elections by the Election Commission when J M Lyngdoh was the CEC. He was not allowed to even vote in the election.
In 1987, Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray was banned by the EC from contesting elections and voting for six years. This was for an election speech delivered by Sena chief during a by-poll in 1987. The ban was later lifted in 2001.
Tormenting 'Ma', looting 'Mati' key achievements of TMC, says Modi
Bardhaman/Barasat (West Bengal): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, April 12, stepped up attack against Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee stating the West Bengal Chief Minister has made a mockery of her party's 'Ma, Mati, Manush' slogan.
Addressing an election rally at Bardhaman, he said under ten years of misrule, the Trinamool Congress regime has reduced "Ma, Mati, Manush" slogan into a new meaning - "Tormenting 'Ma', looting 'Mati' (motherland) and resulting in bloodshed of 'Manush' (common people)".
In his election rallies in Bardhaman, Barasat and Kalyani, the Prime Minister on Monday said the Mamata regime has failed utterly.
Therefore, he said, there is only one slogan today in the state - "Banglar darkar, BJP sarkar (What Bangla needs is only a BJP-led dispensation)".
In his Barasat rally, the Prime Minister said the Chief Minister has encouraged a system and wrongdoers to an extent that "rakshak has turned Bhakshak (those who are expected to ensure safety of people have turned wrongdoers)".
This was perhaps a veiled reference to 2013 rape case wherein son of a strong local Trinamool leader was implicated. The key accused in the rape and murder case of a college girl at Kamduni village in Barasat in 2013, Ansar Ali, is nephew of Trinamool pradhan Asraf Ali Mollah and his another kin Sahidai Biwi was the Trinamool panchayat pradhan in Kirtipur Anchal.
Importantly, the Prime Minister said while across the nation a system of 'fast track' is being evolved to try cases against perpetrators of crime against women; the Mamata regime is even against this.
"Didi is not ready for such a law...," Modi said.
Referring to Trinamool Congress taking exception to his repeated addressing of Mamata Banerjee as 'Didi', the Prime Minister wondered at such a stance.
But he went onto say, in Bengal these days every child has started saying, "Didi o Didi".
"Bangal ke har baccha ab Didi o Didi bolna shuru kar diya".
Earlier at Bardhaman, the Prime Minister said, people of West Bengal have "clean bowled Didi in Nandigram" and have directed the entire TMC team to leave the field. He also said, "a Trinamool leader very close to Mamata" has called all Scheduled Castes people "beggars".
"People of Bengal hit so many fours and sixes that BJP has already completed a century (of seats) in the first four phases of assembly polls," he said. "Eibar niye asho ashol poriborton (This time around, let us have genuine Poribortan in Bengal)," the Prime Minister amid cheering from the large gathering braving scorching heat.
The BJP delegation led by Dushyant Gautam, party general secretary, in a memorandum to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, has accused that Trinamool leader Sujata Mondal Khan, has said that some Scheduled Castes people are 'beggars by nature'.
It demanded that the poll panel should withdraw the recognition of Trinamool as a political party.
ends
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