KOLKATA: In his maiden visit to the troubled Darjeeling Hills since the suspension of the indefinite strike by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh termed GJM chief Bimal Gurung as the 'undisputed' leader of the hills.
Taking an indirect jibe at rebel GJM leader and Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) administrative board chairman Binay Tamang, Ghosh said all players other than Gurung were 'extra players'.
The BJP chief was shown black flags by supporters of Jan Andolan Party in Kalimpong on Wednesday against alleged BJP inaction with regard to statehood for Gorkhaland. Protesters held placards and shouted slogans against BJP and the party's Darjeeling MP SS Ahluwalia. Responding to the black flags, Ghosh said that everyone has right to protest in a democratic setup. However, he refused to comment on Ahluwalia's absence from the delegation.
The 5-member BJP delegation led by Ghosh went to Darjeeling from Kalimpong on Wednesday evening and would move to Sikkim capital Gangtok on Thursday. Ghosh said the BJP delegation went to build confidence among the people of the hills.
Speaking to media in Kalimpong on Wednesday, Ghosh said that BJP was concerned about the 1.25 crore Gorkhas of the country and statehood to only 15 lakh Gorkhas of West Bengal would not bring a big difference to the lives of the other Gorkhas settled in different parts of the country.
"There are 30 lakh Gorkhas in Assam alone, double the number of Gorkhas living in Darjeeling Hills. Could they come and settle in Darjeeling if Gorkhaland statehood is granted?" he said. However, the BJP chief added that the party moots tripartite talks on statehood.
On being asked why the Centre washes away all its responsibilities on Gorkhaland creation by pushing them on the state government's shoulders, Ghosh replied that the state government has to initiate and approve the process of Gorkhaland creation but also elaborated how the previous NDA government led by Atal Behari Vajpayee created Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh states.
However, when told that nowhere in the constitution was it written that Centre has to take approval from the present state government for the creation of a new state, Ghosh said: "Everything is not in the constitution. It's a matter of understanding. We have to abide by the federal structure of the country."