The ongoing agitation in the Darjeeling Hills over the creation of Gorkhaland has caught the Bharatiya Janata Party in a bind. Even as violent protests continue over the statehood demand, the saffron party has not yet taken a clear stance on the matter and has instead kept the spotlight on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s purported mishandling of the situation.

For a month now, an indefinite shutdown has been declared in the Darjeeling Hills, the epicentre of the protests for the separate state for Nepali-speaking Gorkhas, to be carved out of West Bengal. The protests first began after Banerjee’s government ruled that Bengali be taught compulsorily as a second or third language in all West Bengal schools and soon transformed into a violent stir demanding the creation of Gorkhaland. The agitation is being led by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, an ally of the BJP.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s agitation has focused on attacking Banerjee and the West Bengal government’s policies and has not censured the central government, much to the BJP’s relief. The BJP government too has continued to blame the West Bengal chief minister for the continuing violence.

Catch-22

The BJP concerted effort to stay out of the spotlight, even though it has more powers…

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