Addressing an election rally in Kurseong in Darjeeling district, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday, April 21, promised that the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) would resolve the decades-old Gorkha issue within six months if it comes to power in West Bengal. He said no party other than the BJP could find a solution acceptable to the Gorkhas. Seeking to strike an emotional chord with the politically crucial hill electorate, Amit Shah said the BJP understands the concerns and aspirations of the Gorkhas and would work towards a settlement on their terms. The BJP, which has won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat in every election since 2009, has consistently promised a permanent political solution to the hill issue without committing itself to a separate state. This time, instead, echoing the BJP's long-standing promise of a "permanent political solution" to the hill question, Shah said the issue would be resolved in accordance with the aspirations of the Gorkhas. "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. "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 home minister accused the Mamata Banerjee government of refusing to engage with efforts to resolve the issue and said that after becoming home minister, he had convened three meetings on the matter. "After becoming home minister, I convened three major meetings to resolve the Gorkha issue, but not even once did a representative from Mamata's side attend," Shah said. "Mamata Didi, we are not dependent on you for a solution to the Gorkha issue. We have appointed an interlocutor who is preparing a report by engaging with Gorkha organisations here and officials of the West Bengal government," he added. Claiming that the BJP alone understands the concerns of the hill residents, Shah said, "We understand you and your problems. No one except the BJP can resolve the Gorkha issue." The home minister alleged that the Congress and the TMC had betrayed the people of the hills for decades. "The Congress and the TMC have done injustice not only to Darjeeling but also to our patriotic Gorkha brothers," he said. Seeking to broaden the BJP's pitch beyond the Gorkha issue, Shah sought to portray the election as a battle to free north Bengal and the hills from what he called years of neglect and injustice under the TMC rule. "This election is to free the entire West Bengal from TMC's crimes. In a way, it is an election to gain freedom from the injustice happening for decades in north Bengal and Darjeeling," he said. (With PTI Inputs)
