Bengal BJP team to Darjeeling

Darjeeling: A team of BJP leaders from the Bengal state committee is expected to visit the Darjeeling hills to feel the pulse of the people on the Sixth Schedule.

G.S. Yonzone, the president of the BJP (hill unit), said: “The state committee has written a letter, which says that they would like to visit Darjeeling soon. I am trying to work out the dates.”

Yonzone has signed a joint memorandum with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and the CPRM against the Sixth Schedule. The decision has been communicated to the Standing Committee on Home Affairs to whom the special status bill has been referred to.

The BJP leader’s stand comes at a time when his party in Delhi is yet to issue any statement on the Sixth Schedule. So far the BJP has opposed the bill on technical grounds. Even chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has gone on record maintaining that L.K. Advani had categorically said the BJP had not opposed the content of the bill.

Since the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution needs to be amended to grant special status to the hills, the BJP demanded that the bill be referred to a parliamentary committee like any other constitutional amendment bill. Later Sushma Swaraj, the BJP leader who heads the committee, said since there are lots of grievance about the bill, it should be examined threadbare

When asked if he had consulted the state committee before deciding to oppose the bill, Yonzone said “he was in constant touch with the party leaders”.

The visit of the BJP state-level leaders is expected to be important as their briefing to the central leadership could play an instrumental role in deciding the fate of the Sixth Schedule bill.

The support of the BJP is of much importance if the special status is to be implemented in the Darjeeling hills. Constitutional amendments — in this case the Sixth Schedule has to be amended — must be backed by two-thirds of 50 per cent members of the House present.

Source: The Telegraph