Kolkata, Apr 15 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday that once the BJP assumes power in West Bengal, it will prioritise resolving the Gorkha issue in Darjeeling and withdraw all cases
registered against community leaders and workers for violent agitations in the past.
Shah, who was unable to reach the upper reaches of Lebong in the Darjeeling hills on account of unfavourable weather conditions, addressed the gathering through a recorded video message.
"I am deeply regretful of not being able to reach you today. But I promise you that I will meet you in person at the scheduled public meeting at Sukna in Kurseong on April 21, where I will discuss in detail the development plans we have for the people of Darjeeling," he said.
"For now, I will say that once we form the government in Bengal, our priority would be to resolve the Gorkha issue as quickly as possible. We will withdraw all pending police cases against Gorkha leaders and workers after we come to power in the state," he added.
The former BJP chief said that following the series of meetings he held while crisscrossing the state in the run-up to the polls, he has no doubt that the BJP will defeat the TMC in West Bengal.
The decades-old demand of the Nepali-speaking Indians in the Darjeeling hills for a separate state of Gorkhaland had seen violent episodes in the past.
Despite the formation of the semi-autonomous Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) in 2011 to administer the upper reaches of Darjeeling and parts of the foothills, violent agitations took place till as late as 2017.
The region witnessed multiple twists and turns over the political partnership between the local Gorkha parties, like the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), and bigger players like the BJP and TMC, where the demand for a separate Gorkhaland has always acquired political centre stage.
In the upcoming polls, the TMC is in a strategic seat-sharing alliance with the Anit Thapa-led Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BJPM), a breakaway faction of Bimal Gurung's GJM. The TMC has left the Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong seats to its partner.
The BJP, on the other hand, has yet again secured the support of Gurung, although the saffron party is directly contesting the polls from the region this time.
Darjeeling will vote in the first phase of the assembly polls in the state on April 23. The second phase of polls will be held on April 29, followed by counting on May 4. PTI SMY NSD
