September 6, 2013
Sudip Bandyopadhyay speaks on Centre’s divide and rule politics in Bengal
Madam Speaker, deliberate and motivated attempts are being made to divide West Bengal. We apprehend that the Central Government is also playing a role behind it. On the very 3rd of September, this month, when Kumari Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, was visiting Darjeeling District to pacify the situation, unfortunately the Home Minister of India was meeting the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha leaders, who were raising slogans for division of West Bengal, in the name of Gorkhaland. They were meeting here in Delhi.
I want to draw your attention to a letter that the Prime Minister wrote on 1stof August to the hon. Chief Minister, which I want to place on record. He wrote:
“Dear Mamata ji, I have had the matter looked into.”
That is the previous letter. Before that also the different Central Ministers and leaders were meeting the Gorkhaland leaders from West Bengal. Prime
Minister is writing:
“I have had the matter looked into. I understand that while there have been some informal working level contacts with GJMM leaders in Delhi, there was no intent or attempt to encourage them to go behind the back of the State Government or to affect the GTA working arrangements in any way. I have instructed the Central Government personnel – Prime Minister is categorically writing on 1st of August – that any meeting with the GJMM leadership should be done in consultation with the State Government and that they should keep you informed of the developments.”
But on 3rd of September, the Home Minister has himself met them, because of which the hon. Chief Minister wrote a letter to the Prime Minister on 5th of September, where she wrote:
“Kindly refer to your letter dated 1st August, 2013, which I acknowledged, I am constrained to point out that in spite of your categorical instructions that no meeting will be held by the Central Government with the GJMM leadership except in consultation with the State Government, the Union Home Minister met the GJMM delegation on 3rd September, 2013, without intimation to us.
It is most disturbing to note that the Central Government agreed to meet the GJM representatives on the date of 1st September, 2013 when I was present in Darjeeling to attend a public meeting in Kalimpong along with all my senior Government officials, Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, Director-General of Police, etc. I am constrained to state that the timing of the meeting fixed by the Central Government was unfortunate. This act deliberately provokes the divide and rule policy encouraging political turbulence in my State.”
Lastly, she is writing:
“You will kindly appreciate that continuous political interference from the Central Government in the internal affairs of the State is not only encouraging political turmoil in the State but also destroying the federal structure enshrined in the Constitution. I thought it appropriate to bring this real situation for your kind information.”
Madam, I want to say that West Bengal consists of 294 Assembly segments. Darjeeling has only three Assembly segments – one, Darjeeling, two Kurseong and three Kalimpong. How can three MLAs of a district area claim for a separate State? Even one Parliamentary constituency is not there. Where Shri Jaswant Singh represents, he has three from the Hills and four from the plains. So, this is an absurd idea. We want the Central Government should try to follow the assurance given by the hon. Prime Minister. We know the position of the hon. Prime Minister. Sometimes, he feels so in one way. His Government does not respond to his way. It will be a glaring example if they try to do so. Our submission is that in future, in case of a separate State, the Central Government should not give any encouragement to the demand which is being made by the GJM leader for a Gorkhaland State. They should stand by the State Government totally, fully and they should allow the State to take the decision according to their own will.
