The central government on Saturday called out a ‘fake’ social media post claiming that a new Union Territory comprising districts from Bihar and West Bengal is being developed near the Siliguri corridor.
In an X post, the Press Information Bureau said that social media posts are claiming that planning is underway for a new UT. Calling the claim fake, it said that there is no such proposal under consideration by the government of India.
It also urged users to always verify information from official sources before sharing on social media.
The posts that were going viral claimed that the proposed areas include Bihar’s Purnia, Araria, Kishanganj, Katiha and West Bengal’s Malda and Dinajpur.
Some posts also claimed that the BJP-led NDA government has issued a whip to all its MPs for March 9-11, indicating that an important bill or constitutional move could be tabled in the Parliament.
Posts also cited home minister Amit Shah’s three-day visit to the Seemanchal region in Bihar, stating that the discussions have intensified. Last month, Amit Shah embarked on a three-day visit to Bihar’s Seemanchal districts with a focus on concluding the fight against insurgency led by the Left Wing Extremism by making the region and the country “Naxal-Mukt”.
India’s “chicken’s neck”, the Siliguri corridor, is a narrow strip of land measuring 22-35 km in width, that connects the northeast region with the rest of India.
Earlier, a similar “fake” claim was circulated stating that finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is promoting an investment project offering returns of ₹10 lakh per month on an investment of ₹22,000. PIB declared the advertisement as fake, stating that the union minister has not endorsed any such scheme.
