On Monday, August 5, 2024, a resolution was passed in the West Bengal assembly, which voted against the division of the state of West Bengal unanimously involving the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). “We believe in cooperative federalism. We are opposed to any attempt to divide the state,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said while speaking on the motion.
The proposal was made in response to remarks made by a number of high-ranking BJP officials, including the head of the party’s state unit, who supported dividing the districts of north Bengal into a distinct state or Union Territory (UT).
Backing the resolution moved by the TMC, BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, proposed to include the line — “We want overall development of a united West Bengal. We are against any attempt to divide West Bengal” — in the motion. The proposal was accepted by Chief Minister Banerjee, paving the way for unanimous passage of the resolution.
The opposition BJP, which has been under fire for allegedly inciting calls for West Bengal to be divided, insisted that it is against the idea of the state being divided and that it would like it to flourish, particularly in the northern regions.
It is noteworthy that Leader of the Opposition Adhikari has rejected requests made by state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar and certain other party officials to create a separate state or Union Territory (UT) out of districts in north Bengal.
Suvendu Adhikari and West Bengal Assembly: A Call for Unity
Shortly after the Lok Sabha elections, which saw the BJP lose 18 seats out of the 18 it had won in 2019, Sukanta Majumdar demanded that the state be divided. Majumdar urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to include north Bengal in the Northeast on July 24. According to him, the inhabitants in the area would benefit from increased Central funding and growth in this way. Raju Bista, a BJP MP from Darjeeling, supported Majumdar’s idea, saying That it was “logical” since “culturally rich north Bengal has vast resources, but gets only 0.002% of West Bengal’s annual budget”.
Banerjee approved the proposal, opening the door for the resolution to pass with a unanimous vote.
‘We shall defend Bengal without demanding any division’ and ‘We will fight for the development of Bengal’ were two of the new substitute motions brought before the House following the debates.
In response to calls from multiple directions for the division of northern West Bengal into a separate Union territory, the Trinamool Congress, which is in power, proposed the motion under Rule 185.
In February of last year, the West Bengal Assembly voted in favor of a resolution against moves to split the state by voice vote.
Sources in the BJP said the party has “no clear-cut strategy for Bengal unlike other states”. “The BJP central leadership wants holistic development for Bengal. But the party fell short of expectations in the elections. Therefore, the leaders are not sure how to proceed with plans for the state,” said a senior state party leader.
He said the statements on separate statehood made by various state BJP leaders reflected the “central leadership’s tendency to experiment with Bengal”. “People will assume that Bengal appears like a Frankenstein for carrying out experiments. This will further alienate us from the people of Bengal. If we continue to make such statements, we will lose further ground in the state. Suvendu Adhikari has rightly pointed out what should be our party’s stand regarding Bengal. We don’t want any division of Bengal,” said the BJP leader.
The West Bengal Assembly had passed a similar resolution through voice vote in February last year against attempts to divide the state.
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