BJP's Kurseong MLA to contest as Independent candidate against party's Darjeeling LS nominee
Kolkata, Mar 25: BJP's Kurseong MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma on Monday announced that he would contest as an Independent candidate in the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat against the party's nominee Raju Bista.
Sharma, while speaking to PTI over the phone, said he would remain within the BJP while contesting as an Independent and the party can take any disciplinary action it desires but he does not intend to sever ties with the party on his own.
"Bista is not my candidate. We do not want an outsider. It is unfortunate that the BJP could not find any 'Bhumi Putra' (son of the soil)," Sharma said.
He said this was the fourth time that a person not hailing from the Darjeeling hills was nominated by the BJP, and such candidates "do not raise the real issues of the people".
"This is a slap on the face of the 17 lakh voters of Darjeeling hills," he added.
The BJP MLA from Kurseong, who is a vocal supporter of the creation of a separate state of Gorkhaland, highlighted the historical success of the BJP in the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat since 2009.
However, he criticised the party for consistently selecting candidates with no ties to the Darjeeling hills.
Reacting to the development, BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, "The decision to re-nominate Raju Bista is final and the party is unified over the matter. Bista will win the polls with a bigger margin."
He, however, refused to comment on Sharma's decision to contest as an Independent candidate.
While the demand for Gorkhaland dates back over a century, the statehood movement gained momentum in 1986 under Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) leader Subhash Ghisingh.
The movement resulted in numerous deaths and culminated in 1988 with the formation of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. The region witnessed several bouts of violent agitations thereafter, with the latest being a 104-day-long shutdown in 2017.
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Modi inciting people, dividing society, alleges Kharge; Uddhav says 'acche din' coming after June 4
Mumbai (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of inciting people and dividing society through his election speeches.
Kharge was addressing a press conference of the INDIA bloc, where NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray and other leaders were present. The opposition alliance held an election rally in the city on Friday.
"No prime minister before Modi has ever indulged in inciting people like he has been doing. He speaks about democracy repeatedly but doesn’t adhere to the tenets of democracy," Kharge said.
Responding to a question on PM Modi' statement that the Congress will bulldoze the Ram mandir in Ayodhya and also restore Article 370 if the INDIA bloc is voted to power, Kharge said, "We have never used a bulldozer on anyone. Modi has the habit of lying and inciting people about things which Congress will never do or the things that are impossible to be implemented."
Asked about his party's stand on Article 370, Kharge said , "I am not answerable to Modi. We will implement what we have promised in our manifesto."
Attacking the PM further, he said, "Wherever he goes, he tries to create division, speaks of dividing society."
PM Modi had described the Congress' manifesto as Muslim League manifesto, but now he says it is a Maoist manifesto, Kharge added.
The Congress chief assured that reservation as enshrined in the Constitution will continue and nobody can touch it.
Speaking on the occasion, Thackeray said, "'Achche din' are coming from June 4 (when Lok Sabha poll results will be declared) when INDIA bloc-led government takes charge."
"PM Modi calls us 'nakli' (fake) Shiv Sena, tomorrow he may call RSS as 'nakli Sangh'," the former chief minister said.
The BJP is floating 'Pakistan flags in our rally' narrative to divert people's attention from issues like jobs, he alleged.
Pawar said that after coming to power, the INDIA bloc government's duty will be to protect all religious places in the country.
Kharge noted that if elected, the opposition alliance's government will implement a simple, single rate GST, replacing the present GST.
"We introduced Food Security Act, but PM Modi is taking credit for free ration supply," he alleged.
