Campaigning for the BJP in north Bengal, Union Home Minister on Tuesday said that the “Gorkha issues” in the hills of Darjeeling will be resolved in a constitutional manner without dividing West Bengal. He also promised to include the Rajbanshi language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
Addressing a BJP election rally in Gangarampur in Dakshin Dinajpur district, Shah said, “I want to tell my Gorkha brothers of Darjeeling that, once in power, the BJP will not only develop an eco-adventure hub in the hills, but also resolve the Gorkha issue in a constitutional manner without dividing the state.” He, however, did not elaborate.
Last October, the BJP government at the Centre had appointed former Deputy National Security Advisor Pankaj Kumar Singh as its interlocutor to address the long-pending demands of the Gorkha community in the Darjeeling Hills. TMC leaders dubbed Singh’s appointment a “political gimmick” ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls to woo Gorkha voters, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shooting off a stern letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to voice her dissent.
The Nepali-speaking population in the Darjeeling hills has been demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland for close to a century.
The region witnessed several phases of political movements, some even violent, from 1980s for separate statehood. Since 2011, the region has been administered by the semi-autonomous Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).
In the upcoming polls, the TMC is in a strategic seat-sharing alliance with the Anit Thapa-led Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BJPM), a breakaway faction of Bimal Gurung’s GJM, and has left the Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Kurseong seats to its partner.
The BJP, on the other hand, has yet again secured the support of Gurung, its former alliance partner in the hills.
Shah on Tuesday also promised to include the Rajbanshi language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
The Rajbanshis are the largest Scheduled Caste (SC) group in West Bengal and neighbouring Assam, with a population of around 50 lakh. Since Independence, they have been demanding a separate state.
The BJP leader also promised to set up a tribal university in north Bengal.
As part of the BJP’s proposed development package for north Bengal districts, Shah also referred to the party’s manifesto promising that an AIIMS – a state-of-the-art 600-bed cancer hospital – separate IIT and IIM campuses, and a dedicated sports university would be constructed in the region.
Accusing the TMC government in the state of not giving 600 acres of land to the BSF for fencing the border with Bangladesh, Shah said the border fencing will be completed within 45 days of the BJP forming the government in West Bengal. “These infiltrators are a threat to national security. They take away the jobs and the ration for the poor. After we form the government here, we will throw out the infiltrators from West Bengal and the entire country.
“Press EVM buttons next to the lotus sign so hard that once they are pressed in regions of north Bengal, infiltrators across India can feel the electric shock,” he said.
Shah also promised that the supply of potatoes from West Bengal to other states will be allowed to ensure that the farmers get remunerative prices for their produce.
Won’t let Babri Masjid be built in Bengal: Shah
Kolkata: Amit Shah on Tuesday claimed that Aam Janata Unnayan Party founder Humayun Kabir was an “agent” of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and claimed he was constructing the mosque styled on Babri Masjid with her consent.
“Humayun Kabir should listen with his ears open when I say the BJP won’t allow the mosque to be built. Mamata Banerjee and her nephew should also know that their dreams of building that mosque will be shattered on May 5, a day after the votes are counted,” he said at a rally in Manikchak in Malda district.
Kabir, an MLA from Bharatpur, who has now formed his own party and is seeking re-election, was suspended from the TMC last year after he proposed the construction of a Babri-like mosque in Murshidabad. ENS
Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a public meeting in support of BJP candidates ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, at Gochiar in Dakshin Dinajpur, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (PTI Photo) 
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