Kolkata: Condemning BJPs demand of declaring North Bengal as a separate Union territory, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her wrath saying that dividing Bengal into pieces would not be allowed at any cost and the people of Bengal will never lose their independence. "BJPs divide and rule policy will not bear any result in Bengal. There is no difference between North and South Bengal. Both are equally close to my heart. The people of Bengal will give a befitting reply if any attempt is made to divide Bengal and moreover it cannot be done without the state governments consent," Banerjee said. She further said: "Do they (Centre) want to create a situation like Kashmir in the area by taking control in its own hand. I condemn such demands of BJP, in which I believe their central leaders are involved. I would suggest these leaders first control Delhi, before moving towards Bengal". It needs mention that the demand of dividing North Bengal to a separate Union Territory was raised in a meeting of BJP at Jalpaiguri on Sunday. According to political experts, the demand has been placed as the saffron brigades most of the peoples representatives are from North Bengal. Stating that execution of BJPs demand is next to impossible, Banerjee lambasted the saffron camp for "fetching the plan" to divide Bengal even after its defeat in the recently concluded Assembly polls in the state. "Do they not feel ashamed after receiving such a blow in the Assembly polls? What purpose do they want to fulfill (by placing such demand?" Banerjee raised the questions. She added that such a demand must be the brainchild of any of their (BJPs) central leadership. "There are a set of people who never took any step for development of North Bengal apart from giving false assurances and today they are trying to divide Bengal. But, we will not let the people of Bengal lose their independence," Banerjee said. The Chief Minister has also elaborated how her government has ensured an overall development of North Bengal in the past 10 years. It was Banerjees initiative that led to the setting up a separate administrative headquarters — Uttar Kanya — in North Bengal. "At the same time, North Bengal now has better infrastructure for health, education and tourism sectors," Banerjee said. Condemning the death of a journalist in Uttar Pradesh she said: "I condemn the killing of a journalist in Uttar Pradesh. Since Bengal is in peace, attempts were made to defame Bengal. Those are defaming Bengal by circulating fake videos, one day they have to declare in public that they are not BJP supporters," Banerjee said.

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