The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said on Saturday it was committed to the creation of smaller states, as it justified its support to the demand of a separate Gorkhaland state in West Bengal and Telangana in Andhra Pradesh.
Justifying the party’s alliance with the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), which is demanding a separate state carved out of Darjeeling and nearby areas of West Bengal, BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said: “Small states are growing at faster rates. The Economic Survey Appraisal has given us this data.”
BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley said the party will consider sympathetically the GJM’s demand for a Gorkhaland state.
The BJP has also supported a separate state for Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh.
However this statement by the BJP spokesperson of West Bengal was not welcome by any other party in West Bengal who all oppose the creation of a separate state carved out of West Bengal.
