Kamal Ghorui
Kolkata/Darjeeling: Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday made a slew of promises targeted at north Bengal on Wednesday, including the withdrawal of “false” cases against Gorkha representatives and the inclusion of the Rajbanshi language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, which recognises official languages in India.He said the Centre was already working on a solution to the Gorkhaland issue for which it had appointed an interlocutor and held three meetings in Delhi to find a resolution, but CM Mamata Banerjee had refused to attend. “The people of Darjeeling are true patriots. They deserve their rights and justice, which have been denied to them,” he said. Addressing a poll rally in Jalpaiguri, Shah said a BJP govt would withdraw every false case lodged against political workers, regardless of party affiliation, and end what he called “police raj” in Bengal. He specifically mentioned Gorkha representatives facing hundreds of cases. Shah also warned Trinamool workers against poll-day violence and referred to the attack on BJP candidate Rathindranath Bose’s convoy. “I am warning Trinamool’s goons to stay indoors on April 23. Else they will be behind bars after May 5,” he said, adding that BJP would end “mafia raaj”. At a rally in Falakata, Shah accused the state govt of “stepmotherly” treatment towards north Bengal and promised to raise tea garden workers’ wages by Rs 500 and form a dedicated battalion in the state police for the region. Raising women’s safety, Shah cited the RG Kar, Sandeshkhali and Durgapur Medical College incidents. “If BJP forms govt, women would be able to roam freely even at midnight,” he said.
