The bifurcation of the state is an emotional political issue, and no mainstream political party has officially come out in support of such demands.
The bifurcation of the state is an emotional political issue, and no mainstream political party has officially come out in support of such demands.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said firearms were being smuggled through Bihar and international borders to separate North Bengal from the state.
Speaking at an administrative meeting in Nadia district, the chief minister alleged that VIP vehicles were being used to smuggle weapons, and directed the district authorities to take action against such attempts.
The bifurcation of the state is an emotional political issue and no mainstream political party has officially come out in support of such demands. The demand for the creation of a separate state from North Bengal is often raised by certain groups. Recently, a section of BJP MPs, both MPs and MLAs from North Bengal, have made statements supporting such demands. The issue of creation of Gorkhaland has dominated the politics of Darjeeling hills since the 1980s.
During the meeting, Ms Banerjee also urged police officials to exercise caution as some want to incite riots in the state. “Keep an eye on communal pockets; Some have plans to incite violence from December. They want to incite communal riots. They have already started it in Karnataka,” Ms Banerjee said.
She said that she was appealing to Nadiya, the land of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, that peace is the only solution. State Director General of Police Manoj Malviya was on stage with the Chief Minister when he made the remarks.
Recently, there was a communal flare-up in Mominpur area of Kolkata and the Calcutta High Court had directed to constitute a Special Investigation Team to probe the matter.
Ms Banerjee also urged that all people above the age of 18 years should enroll their names in the voter list. The chief minister asked the officials not to cut the names of those who “belong to a different religion”.
He claimed that there are reports from another state that 30% of voters’ names have been struck off in the border area of the state.
Though the Chief Minister did not specify which state she was referring to, she said that the population of border areas are also citizens and they cannot be deprived of their rights. The draft electoral list for West Bengal was released earlier this week, where the electorate stood at 7,42,88,233, down 12,577 from a year ago.