BJP MLA says neglect of Bengal's western region sparking separatist demands

A BJP legislator has courted controversy by claiming that parts of the western parts of West Bengal have been discriminated against for years and this has sparked demands for a separate state.

A purported video shows Onda legislator Amar Sakha saying that if the BJP does well in the panchayat polls, he would highlight the issue of underdevelopment of the region comprising Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram and Paschim Medinipur districts and voice the sentiments of the sons of the soil.

PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

Sakha was latest in the line of several BJP lawmakers, including Union ministers, raising the issue of underdevelopment of north Bengal and western parts of the state.

He said lakhs of youth from his district Bankura and other neighouring areas are migrating to other states for jobs despite Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's claims that the state topped the country in employment generation.

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said the BJP MLA's comments reveal the saffron party's ''diabolical game plan to divide West Bengal into several parts''.

''Trinamool Congress and the people of West Bengal will never let that happen. BJP's divisive agenda cannot stop the spree of development initiatives undertaken under the leadership of our CM,'' Ghosh added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)