BJP feels Agreement lacks transparency

The West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday criticised the West Bengal government for the alleged lack of transparency in the signing of the tripartite accord at Sukna in Darjeeling district for the setting up of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.

The State BJP leadership compared the signing of the accord with the previous Left Front government's agreement with the Tata Motors Limited for setting up a small car factory unit at Singur — alleging that the contents of both the agreements were not made public and lacked transparency.

“In spite of being such a sensitive issue, the contents of the agreement have not been made public yet. This indicates a complete absence of transparency in the signing process. The BJP will wait for a copy of the agreement and if the contents are found to be against the interests of the State, will hit the streets in protest,” Rahul Sinha, BJP's State president, said at a press conference.

The BJP also objected to the name of the newly set up administrative body — Gorkhaland Territorial Administration — stating that inclusion of the word ‘Gorkhaland' itself would stoke separatist sentiments in the region.

“Even in the 1988 Gorkha Hill Council Agreement, the word ‘Gorkhaland' was dropped and replaced by Gorkha following widespread protests,” Mr. Sinha said.