Kolkata: At a closed-door meeting of BJP media cell it was decided that the party will take strict action against BJP Bishnupur MP Saumitra Khan for demanding separate statehood for Jungle Mahal.
A day after the BJP Bishnupur MP demanded statehood of Rarh Bangla (the region comprising Bankura, Purulia), in a closed-door meeting the BJP media cell demanded strict action against Saumitra.
Following the complaints by the media cell, the BJP immediately asked Saumitra to return to Kolkata from the national capital.
According to West Bengal media cell sources, Alipurduar MP John Barla who too demanded separate statehood for North Bengal has been asked to refrain from commenting further on the issue.
“People of North Bengal also want development for which they had asked the BJP MP to demand separate statehood. But soon after John Barla’s comment the BJP had cleared its stand on not dividing the state, even then Saumitra on his own had again asked for separate statehood of Jungle Mahal,” mentioned the sources.
Notably, even on Tuesday, West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh cleared the fact that the saffron camp is not in favour of dividing the state.
“Those who have expressed their views of separate statehood is their personal viewpoint but BJP doesn’t corroborate their demand. Those who are demanding such things will have to alter their demands and follow the party’s line of undivided Bengal. When the hills were in unrest TMC supported the issue but BJP was never in favor of it,” claimed Ghosh.
Meanwhile, BJP North Bengal MLA Sikha Chattopadhyay said that the demand of separate statehood is surfacing as people of North Bengal want true development and also alleged that the erstwhile Left Front Government and present Trinamool Congress government did not do anything to uplift the status of North Bengal.
It can be recalled that BJP MP John Barla couple of days back demanded to make North Bengal a separate state of UT as he felt that if North Bengal is separated and is directly under the BJP led Central government then people of North Bengal will be safe and will see development.
