KOLKATA: Within hours after Trinamool Congress (TMC) took a strong stance and announced that it would not succumb to the pressure exerted by the secessionist forces, Dilip Ghosh, president of state BJP said it was not the partys view to divide Bengal and those making such statements were doing it on their own. Ghoshs statement puts an end to the controversy that had cropped up over the division of Bengal. Earlier, BJP MPs, John Barla and Saumitra Khan, had demanded separate identities for North Bengal and Jangalmahal respectively. TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said on Tuesday that the party would not tolerate any attempt to divide Bengal. Roy alleged that the BJP was unable to digest the landslide defeat in the last state Assembly election and was thus trying to fan the secessionist forces to create trouble in Bengal. TMC would launch a movement against any attempt to divide Bengal, he added. TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee had earlier said the party would not tolerate any attempts to divide Bengal and disturb its peace and harmony. Kunal Ghosh, state secretary of TMC, said: "BJP would not have got a single seat had the party announced it (demand for separate statehood) before the Assembly election. If they are so serious about the issue, then they should have incorporated this in their election manifesto. The sole purpose of BJP is to fan the divisive forces just to destabilise peace in Bengal." Meanwhile, Bablu Kar, Trinamool Youth Congress president, Alipurduar district on Tuesday filed two FIRs against Saumitra Khan and John Barla. He alleged that the statements made by the two BJP MPs might lead to deterioration of the law and order situation in the state. He also demanded arrest of those who were making statements in social media to fan secessionist forces. Meanwhile, BJP leaders and workers led by Bibhas Malik joined Trinamool Congress at Khanakul in Hooghly district. The leaders and workers mostly hailing from Bolpai area joined TMC in presence of Aparupa Podder, partys MP from Arambagh. Most of the BJP workers tonsured their heads as an act of atonement. They said they had made a mistake by joining BJP and they had shaved their head to tell people that similar mistakes would not be committed in future. Biman Ghosh, BJP leader of Arambag unit, said these leaders and workers had joined the party before the Assembly election and had left it because of the partys poor performance in the district. "Their absence would not make any difference to the party," he said.

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