WB BJP president accuses Mamata of spoiling relations with neighbors
West Bengal state BJP president Dilip Ghosh has accused CM Mamata Banerjee of spoiling Bengal's relations with its neighboring states. He also accused her of not taking appropriate steps to handle the Gorkhaland unrest in Darjeeling. Ghosh accused her of treating the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's leaders as "terrorists," claiming they were protesting in a democratic manner. Read on to know what else he said.
Ghosh accuses Mamata of spoiling relations with Bihar
On August 27, Mamata attended Lalu's "BJP bhagao, desh bachao" rally where she hit out at the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government's alleged inability to take steps to help the flood-affected state. She accused Nitish of abandoning the Mahagathbandhan coalition and claimed that in the upcoming elections, Bihar will boycott the JD(U)-BJP combine. Ghosh alleges that this has affected WB's relations with the Bihar government.
Sikkim-Bengal relations hit troubled waters
In addition, Sikkim-WB relations became tense after Bengal police allegedly entered Sikkim forcefully to detain GJM leaders. WB has begun peace talks with the GJM but is simultaneously cracking down on leaders such as Bimal Gurung, who oppose the dialogue. The latest unrest in the Darjeeling hills was due to Mamata's diktat that Bengali should be made compulsory in WB's schools, which was opposed by GJM.
TMC-led WB government accuses the BJP of fomenting unrest
Meanwhile, the TMC-ruled WB government has accused the BJP of fuelling the Darjeeling Hills unrest. BJP, a GJM ally, has found itself in a soup as it had promised a separate Gorkhaland during the 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha election campaigns. On the issue of forced entry into Sikkim, the Bengal police insist that they had asked permission for a raid.
