West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her party Trinamool Congress (TMC) are welcome in Assam as the party will help divide votes of the Congress and help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in north Bengal’s Siliguri town on Sunday.
On a short trip to Siliguri to meet the family of late former Assam legislator Aloke Ghosh, Sarma said, “West Bengal chief minister’s entry in Assam and Tripura will only help the BJP. Wherever she goes and does politics, she will divide the votes of Congress and other parties and help the BJP. If she comes to Assam, we will give her a red carpet welcome.”
Asked whether Sushmita Dev, the former Silchar MP who recently joined the TMC, would pose a challenge to the BJP in Assam, Sarma said, “She is known to people in one district only. She will divide Congress votes.”
Commenting on post-poll violence in Bengal, he said, “The assembly elections were closely contested both in Assam and West Bengal. The fact is that not a single stone was thrown at any house in Assam. But here, the Calcutta high court had to instruct the CBI to investigate. This speaks volumes.”
“There are only 12 Bengali Hindu people in the detention camps in Assam and the process is on to give them relief,” said Sarma when asked about detention camps set up during enforcement of the National Register of Citizens in his state.
{{/usCountry}}“There are only 12 Bengali Hindu people in the detention camps in Assam and the process is on to give them relief,” said Sarma when asked about detention camps set up during enforcement of the National Register of Citizens in his state.
{{/usCountry}}“There will be no cases against the Gorkhas in Assam. We have decided to drop all cases against them in the foreigners’ tribunals. We have also given the Gorkhas protected class status even in tribal belts and community blocks,” said Sarma.
On August 4, the Assam cabinet decided not to prosecute members of the Gorkha community. The decision was welcomed by Gorkhas who have a sizeable presence in Bengal’s Darjeeling district.