Home Minister Amit Shah today promised a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe all incidents of “political killings” in the Hills and bring to book those responsible for them.

Addressing an election rally in Kalimpong, Mr Shah said that the Gorkhas faced atrocities in the hills in the 80s, with more than 1200 people sacrificing their lives.

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“The same happened in Didi’s regime when many people died. When the BJP comes to power here, I assure you that we will provide justice to you all by forming a Special Investigation Team and sending to jail all those behind it,” said Mr Shah.

However, he spoke nothing on the ‘Permanent Political Solution’ (PPS) that the BJP has promised for the region, and highlighted the National Register of Citizens (NRC). He claimed that even if it was implemented here, no Gorkhas would be affected.

Mr Shah was in Kalimpong to attend a road show as part of the BJP’s election campaign for their Assembly election candidate Subha Pradhan.

“There is a conspiracy going on here of spreading false news that the Gorkhas will be sent packing from here when the NRC is implemented here. The NRC has not come here and even it does, it will not affect the Gorkhas,” said Mr Shah. According to him, not even a strand of hair of the Gorkhas will be harmed as long as the BJP is in power.

The Home Minister also iterated the BJP promise to grant tribal status to 11 Gorkha communities. He, however, did not speak a word on the PPS, which has been one of the main demands of its alliance parties here.

The president of one of the BJP alliance partners, Gorkha National Liberation Front, Mann Ghisingh had on 7 April said in Kuresong that they should hear what the BJP senior leaders have to say on the PPS issue. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who was present there in Kurseong, also did not speak on it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who addressed a rally in Siliguri on Saturday, also did not mention the PPS.

Making announcements from atop a vehicle which was parked near Dambar Chowk today, Mr Shah said, “We have addressed your problems in our manifesto. We will be giving impor tance to Nepali/Gorkha language in Bengal and also introduce a TV Channel in your language at Doordarshan. Apart from that, we will establish a museum dedicated to Freedom Fighters at a cost of Rs 100 crore.”

He also talked on the contribution and sacrifice of Gorkhas in the country while maintaining that the Trinamul Congress, Congress or the Communist parties did not recognisze the same.

Mr Shah further said that they would work for granting land rights to tea garden and cinchona plantation residents, hike in the wages of tea garden workers to Rs 350, All India Institute of Medical Sciences-like health facility in north Bengal, along with a central university. He also said that Rs 1,000 crore will be sanctioned to make the Hills a tourism hub, along with free education for women and free tickets for them on buses, trains and metro trains. He also promised depositing Rs 18,000 in bank accounts of farmers, along with providing Rs 5 lakh as medical assistance to the people.

Maintaining that 2 May, the day the election results are scheduled to be out, would be a “farewell to Didi,” he appealed to all to make help the BJP win the three Hill seats, “so that the farewell is a grand one.” Mr Shah will be making an appearance in Darjeeling tomorrow.