The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha on Monday protested outside the Assembly against Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey for his statement in Lok Sabha seeking parts of the state along with West Bengal and Bihar be declared a Union Territory, reported PTI.

On July 25, Dubey, while speaking in the Lok Sabha said that a Union Territory be formed carving out Malda and Murshidabad districts from West Bengal, Araria, Kishanganj and Katihar districts from Bihar and Santhal Parganas region of Jharkhand.

The MP from Jharkhand’s Godda constituency claimed that the tribal population in the Santhal Parganas region was declining due to the increasing influx of undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh.

Dubey sought to justify his demand for carving out a Union territory by claiming that a July 22 Jharkhand High Court order allegedly said that Muslim population was on rise and hence the Centre should intervene.

On Monday, state minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Deepak Birua accused the BJP of trying to divide the state by using the issue of infiltration.

“The BJP has cleared its intention in Parliament,” he said during the protest outside the Assembly. “We will not allow the BJP to divide the State.”

Dubey’s remarks had also drawn criticism from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on July 26.

“When Parliament is in process, a minister is making statements to divide Bengal,” she had said. “And now from different sources, different party members are giving different types of statements – to divide Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, and Bengal. We strongly condemn this attitude. To divide Bengal means to divide our country India.”

However, Jharkhand BJP president Babulal Marandi said that Dubey’s remarks in Parliament were made in personal capacity, reported PTI. “The BJP has nothing to do with it,” he told reporters.

BJP legislators also held a demonstration outside the Assembly, claiming that the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha government was protecting the alleged undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh.

“Tribal students were beaten up when they decided to stage a rally against Bangladeshi infiltrators,” alleged BJP MLA Anant Ojha.

The BJP legislators called for the implementation of the National Register of Citizens in the region. The National Register of Citizens is a proposed exercise to identify undocumented immigrants.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha sought to distance itself from Congress MLA Shilpi Neha Tirkey’s statement that the influx of persons from Bihar was altering the demographics of Jharkhand’s demography.

“The alliance has nothing to do with her statement,” state minister Mithilesh Thakur said. “We are Jharkhandi by birth and heart.”

Also read: To divide Bengal is to divide the country: Mamata Banerjee on BJP MP’s demand for Union Territory