KURSEONG (WB), Apr 21: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the decades-old Gorkha issue will be resolved within six months if the BJP forms the government in West Bengal.
He said no party other than the BJP could find a solution acceptable to the Gorkhas.
Addressing an election rally at Kurseong in Darjeeling district, Shah said the BJP understands the concerns and aspirations of the Gorkhas and would work towards a settlement on their terms.
“Within six months of the BJP forming the government in West Bengal, every Gorkha will have a smile on his face. We will find such a solution to the Gorkha issue that Gorkhas can live in peace,” he said.
The home minister said the problem had persisted for decades because successive governments had failed to sincerely address the aspirations of the people of the Darjeeling hills.
“The Congress and the TMC have done injustice not only to Darjeeling but also to our patriotic Gorkha brothers,” Shah alleged. Claiming that the BJP had repeatedly tried to resolve the issue, Shah said he had convened three meetings on the matter, but the Mamata Banerjee government did not send any state representative.
“I had called three meetings to resolve the Gorkha issue, but the West Bengal government did not send any representative. That is why an interlocutor had to be appointed,” he said.
Shah reiterated that a BJP government in the state would take steps within six months to resolve the issue in accordance with the wishes of the Gorkhas. “I am leaving today after promising you that as soon as the BJP government is formed, the decades-old Gorkha issue will be resolved according to the Gorkhas’ terms,” he said.
The BJP leader also raised the issue of the deletion of names of some Gorkhas from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. “The names of some Gorkhas were deleted during the SIR. Once the BJP government is formed in West Bengal, all such names will be included in the electoral rolls again,” he said.
The Gorkha issue refers to the century-old statehood demand in the Gorkhamajority hill districts in north Bengal. (Agencies)
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