Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the BJP will end the Trinamool Congress' "injustice" against the Gorkha community within six months if it forms the government in West Bengal.
The senior BJP leader also promised to withdraw the cases against the people involved in the Gorkhaland movement. He said no party other than the BJP could find a "solution" acceptable to the Gorkhas.
Addressing an election rally at Kurseong in Darjeeling district, Shah said the BJP understands the concerns and aspirations of the Gorkhas and would work towards a settlement on their terms.
"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.
The home minister said the problem had persisted for decades because successive governments had failed to sincerely address the aspirations of the people of the Darjeeling hills.
"The Congress and the TMC have done injustice not only to Darjeeling but also to our patriotic Gorkha brothers," Shah alleged.
Claiming that the BJP had repeatedly tried to resolve the issue, Shah said he had convened three meetings on the matter, but the Mamata Banerjee government did not send any state representative.
"I had called three meetings to resolve the Gorkha issue, but the West Bengal government did not send any representative.
That is why an interlocutor had to be appointed," he said.
Shah reiterated that a BJP government in the state would take steps within six months to resolve the issue in accordance with the wishes of the Gorkhas.
"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.
Gorkhaland movement is a long-standing demand for a separate state within India by the people of Gorkha-majority hill districts in north Bengal and the people of Indian Gorkha ethnic origin in the Northern part of West Bengal.
The BJP leader also raised the issue of the deletion of names of some Gorkhas from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
"The names of some Gorkhas were deleted during the SIR.
Once the BJP government is formed in West Bengal, all such names will be included in the electoral rolls again," he said.
Further attacking Mamata Banerjee, Amit Shah said, "It is time to say Tata bye-bye to Mamata Didi. This election is to free Bengal from TMC's crime. This time, the whole Bengal has decided that it is time to remove Didi. This election is to provide safety to our mothers and sisters. We will ensure that every rapist is put behind bars."
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
