While the rival political parties accused her of playing the Bengali card to reap electoral benefits in the panchayat elections particularly in North Bengal, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday drove home the need to learn the language for non-Bengali speaking population while living in Bengal.
Her statement came on a day when the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha staged protests against the State Trinamool Congress Government’s decision to make Bengali a compulsory third language for those who would live in the State.
The GJM staged protest marches and raised black flags throughout the two districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong demanding a rollback of the Government decision.
Mamata, who was currently in Darjeeling to hold an administrative meet and a Cabinet meeting in the Hills, wondered, “If the Bengalis can read Nepali why can’t a Nepali person read Bengali,” apparently aware of the political impact of her speech.
She said, “We are not forcing Bengali language down your throat. We are making it available for the people like other three languages — English, Hindi and Nepali. What is the harm to read a fourth language in a State where we are living.”
The GJM was trying to rake up an issue ahead of the panchayat elections because they don’t have any issue to raise, she said reminding that the State Government had done all the developmental work in Darjeeling and the GJM was trying to create linguistic divide to save its place in the hills.
Her statement was however vehemently protested by GJM leadership with party leader Benoy Tamang on Monday staging a mammoth rally at Mirik.
“We will not tolerate any dictatorial move by the Bengal Government on the Gorkha population,” said GJM chief Bimal Gurung.