Kolkata, Nov 28 (PTI) A BJP legislator has claimed that parts of the western region of West Bengal have been discriminated against for years and this has sparked demands for a separate state.
Sakha was the latest in the line of several BJP lawmakers, including Union ministers, raising the "issue of underdevelopment" of north Bengal and western parts of the state.
Kolkata, Nov 28 (PTI) A BJP legislator has claimed that parts of the western region of West Bengal have been discriminated against for years and this has sparked demands for a separate state.
A purported video shows Onda MLA Amar Sakha saying that if the BJP does well in the panchayat polls, he would highlight the issue of underdevelopment of the region comprising Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram and Paschim Medinipur districts and voice the sentiments of the sons of the soil. PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
Sakha was the latest in the line of several BJP lawmakers, including Union ministers, raising the "issue of underdevelopment" of north Bengal and western parts of the state. He said lakhs of youth from his district Bankura and other neighbouring areas are migrating to other states for jobs despite Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's claims that West Bengal topped the country in employment generation.
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said the BJP MLA's comments reveal the saffron party's "diabolical game plan to divide West Bengal into several parts". "The Trinamool Congress and the people of Bengal will never let that happen. The BJP's divisive agenda cannot stop the spree of development initiatives undertaken under the leadership of our CM," Ghosh added.
(With PTI inputs)