700km from Siliguri to Kolkata in 3 hrs: Shah vows spl highway

Darjeeling: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday stated that if voted to power, the BJP-led government will build a special highway connecting Kolkata to Siliguri that will take only three hours. He also assured Gorkhas that they would in no way be affected by NRC.

"The distance from Siliguri to Kolkata is a distance of 700 km. The road is so bad that it will rattle all your bones. As soon as BJP comes to power, we will build the 675 km long Subhash Chandra Bose National Highway and you can reach Kolkata from Siliguri in 3 hours," stated Shah, addressing an election campaign meeting in Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri.

The announcement sparked immediate reactions from netizens with social media abuzz with questions like whether bullet trains would be plying on this road.

Before Nagrakata, the Union Home Minister was in Darjeeling. "If you give us the mandate we will get Gorkhas in the national mainstream. Permanent political solution of the Gorkhas will be facilitated by the BJP run West Bengal government and Central government," stated Shah addressing a rally at the Gorkha Stadium in Lebong on the outskirts of the town.

From drinking water, tea garden, cinchona plantation problems and land right documents, Shah promised to resolve everything after coming to power in Bengal.

"No Gorkhas are infiltrators. This is your land. There is no talk of NRC now. But if it happens in future Gorkhas don't have to be afraid or need to worry. The BJP and Gorkha unbreakable bond has been forged by God," declared Shah.